Legend of the Arch Magus- The Expansion

by Michael John Sisa

  My only lead is the magician called Pollux. He’s supposed to have founded that so-called Institute of Magic.

  According to the book, the Institute of Magic founded by Pollux held enough strength to rival an Empire. If he looked further, he should be able to find records about it.

  Lark went to the man guarding the lower floor of the library. He asked him where he could find records about the Institute of Magic.

  “Pollux? Institute of Magic?” said the man. He yawned. “Easy enough. After all, this tower’s named after that great magician. See those shelves over there?” He pointed at the shelves near the back. “Turn right after that one. If my memory serves me correct, there should be records about him over there.”

  “Thank you.”

  Lark went towards the shelf the man indicated. After brushing away the cobwebs, he looked through the titles. He picked two books and went towards the nearest table.

  Pollux, the Millennium Magician.

  The title of the book made Lark wonder what kind of person the magician was, for him to be given such title by historians. He started flipping through the pages and was struck speechless by what he read.

  More than a thousand years ago, there existed a group of magicians capable of toppling Kingdoms on their own. Each of those magicians held enough might to fight against a dragon. The records of the old said that those people have reached the pinnacle of magic, a height never seen before.

  Leanne, Deity of the Desert.

  Pollux, the Millennium Magician.

  Kubarkava, the Dragon Devourer.

  Loumen, King of Beasts.

  Leonard, God of Fighting.

  Qeurvanu, God of Poison.

  Uurvesk, the Great Emperor.

  Dantes, Ruler of Fire…

  These magicians, who were considered invincible in their own might, have one thing similar –

  —They were all under the tutelage of a single person. A magician known to be the absolute strongest. The Arcane God – Evander Alaester.

  After the death of their master, these invincible magicians went on their separate paths. Loumen, the King of Beasts, confronted the Demon Lord in the south and lost his life. Dantes, the Ruler of Fire, sacrificed his own life to resurrect the Phoenix. To this day, the whereabouts of the divine creature remained unknown. Leonard founded his own school, the Martial Arts school located in the Savage Land. Uurvesk conquered several small Kingdoms and founded the Great Empire.

  In an attempt to revive their master, the Devourer of Dragons and the God of Poison conducted a ritual to open the gates to the Realm of the Dead. Unfortunately, the spell failed and the two lost their lives in the process. After their deaths, Leanne went back to the desert and created the White Stream Oasis, an absurdly large paradise where water and food never ran out.

  Pollux, the oldest of all disciples, founded the Institute of Magic. There had been records that time indicating that Pollux successfully completed the Ritual of the Immortal. The ritual extended his life for another several hundreds of years, before he finally perished at the age of more than a thousand. As the oldest human in history, he was granted the honorary title – Millennium Magician.

  Before the Institute of Magic was destroyed in the Fifth Great War against the Demons, it nurtured numerous geniuses that soon led different Kingdoms and Empires.

  It was suffice to say that out of all the disciples of the Arcane God, Pollux engraved his name the most in history of humankind. His a thousand years of existence paved the way to the prosperity of magic.

  Lark breathed in heavily. The things written in this book struck him speechless. He felt his chest tightening from shock.

  So many questions ran through his head, but one thing was sure now: this was the same world, but a different timeline. If he went according to the dates in the books he read, then it had been more than a thousand and a half years since he died.

  But why did he suddenly reincarnate now? And in the body of this noble at that? Did it have something to do with the attempt of Kubarkava and Quervanu to revive him? He was not sure. He held no answer right now.

  And Pollux…

  So, he successfully completed the spell I left behind before my death.

  Lark was not sure if he should be happy or sad about this truth. That very same spell was the one that cursed his soul and led him to his death. Although he was sure that Pollux was unable to perfect the spell he created since he still died from age, he was certain that his disciple somehow managed to complete the spell.

  Lark continued reading the book. After finishing all of the available titles related to his disciples, he finally came to a conclusion.

  “Agh! This is driving me crazy!” he shouted as he ruffled his hair. The things he learned after reading those history books drove him nuts.

  He felt the piercing glare from the guard.

  “If you’re not going to shut that mouth, get out!” he snarled. “It doesn’t matter if you’re the only person here right now. This is a damn library. Shut up!”

  “Sorry,” breathed Lark. The furious guard quickly faded away from his mind. His head was filled with various thoughts – thoughts of the fate of his disciples. Reading about their lives felt surreal, as though he actually went with them throughout that journey.

  Lark knew that they were all dead by now. After all, more than a thousand years have passed since then.

  “If I was reincarnated a bit soon. Around five hundred years ago, then maybe…”

  Maybe, he could have met Pollux again, at the very least. He wanted to personally ask him why he performed the ritual that took the life of his master. Why such a sincere disciple like him extended his lifespan despite knowing the risks. Lark also wanted to see what kind of Institute of Magic he built. If it was Pollux, then he would have surely focused on support magic.

  My disciples paved the way for the next generation. They created the path for the future magicians. But why is it that the level of magic in this era’s like this? If the teachings of those guys have indeed spread far and wide, why is that common people don’t even know the proper concept of mana?

  Lark could not correlate the things he had read to what he was experiencing right now in this life. After all, a basilisk was already considered a Calamity Level beast in this Kingdom. Back in the Magic Empire, monsters like that would be eradicated in the blink of an eye.

  It’s unfortunate that my current shell’s unable to move according to my will. I had to let the female basilisk go back then. Otherwise, it’ll be too dangerous for this weak body.

  A creature like a basilisk held a decent-sized magic core inside of their bodies. It would have greatly help Lark in expanding his mana had he gotten his hands on it. It was unfortunate, and he decided that he would hunt that monster down once he finished training his new body.

  It’ll take several years before I finish expanding the mana pool of this body to a decent level. Maybe the Head Merchant knows where I can find high grade mana stones? I’ll ask him later.

  Lark looked out the window. It was getting dark, probably an hour or two before dusk.

  Originally, he planned on touring the city. But he no longer have the energy for that. After the shocking revelation, he simply wanted to lie down on the bed and rest, and think of various things.

  He was surprised that only Loumen openly confronted the Demon Race after he died. It was a completely unexpected outcome considering the hate Leanne and Pollux have towards the demons.

  What made them forgo of their hatred and live on normally after his death? Why did Dantes try to revive the Phoenix? Even Leonard, who used to hate associating with other people, founded his own Martial Arts school.

  So many questions without an answer.

  After putting the books back to their proper shelves, Lark wordlessly left the library. As expected, the men tailing him quickly followed suit.

  Lark looked back and stared at the tower named after Pollux. According to most historians, Pollux was among the greatest m
agicians that have ever roamed this land, probably even greater than his master – Evander Alaester himself.

  The bald, old man that used to follow him around have accomplished so much after Lark’s death. Lark felt proud and at the same time crestfallen that he was unable to witness that day.

  Lark heaved a sigh. “I guess I’m not such a bad teacher, after all.” He smiled softly. “My disciples have accomplished so much in their lives. I only wish I could be there to congratulate them.”

  Lark noticed that tears have started forming at the corner of his eyes. He rubbed them off. “Damn, I’m getting sentimental.”

  After one last look at the tower, Lark went back to the inn and immediately fell asleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Big Mona received the report of his men. After tailing Lark for two days, they did not see anything out of the ordinary. The same went for his servants and guards. On the contrary, the routine of the noble was so mediocre that they doubted it at first, thinking that the young man was faking it. After all, it was not frequent to see a man so absorbed in reading books that he sat inside the library for more than a dozen hours, unmoving.

  After checking the contents of the books the young man read, they found out that it was nothing but history. The information inside were nothing special, probably something mandatorily taught to schools for the nobility.

  “Books, huh?” mumbled Big Mona. “Are you sure that’s all he did during these past two days?”

  Even the fat merchant couldn’t believe it. After all, the young noble gave off the impression of a shrewd fox. He could not understand why such person, who came from a faraway town, would spend two of his precious days in the city inside a library – reading history books.

  “We’re sure,” said the leader of the group. “We’ve been watching him even as he slept. We’ve also watched over his men. Aside from the guards spending some money on brothels, they did nothing unusual.”

  If possible, Big Mona wanted his men to find out how the young noble made the kalranes absorb so much energy from the sun — how he made these light stones shine so bright for such a long period of time.

  “Ah, also a messenger from the Lord of the city came here.”

  Big Mona raised a brow. “And?”

  “He asked me to give you this.”

  The envelope was sealed with the crest of the Lion City. Big Mona ripped open the envelope and read the letter inside.

  “It’s the same request,” said Big Mona. “I’ll be needing a dozen beastmen. Women, children, it doesn’t matter.”

  “It’s that time of the year again, huh?” said the masked leader. “Understood. We’ll deliver it to the Lord.”

  Every year, a month after winter ends, the Lord of the Lion City would request several beastmen from the Merchants Guild. Big Mona was well aware of the fate of those slaves, but he couldn’t care less. Even though he knew that they would be eaten by Lord of the Lion City to satiate his carnal desires, he would gladly sell them to him in exchange of vast amounts of money.

  Several of the bigwigs in the Merchants Guild knew of this, but they kept quiet. After all, although the Lord have this peculiar desire for the meat of beastmen, he was a competent ruler. In just a few years after he assumed the position of the Lord, the Lion City prospered and quickly became one of the major cities of the Kingdom.

  Two knocks were heard outside the door. A servant spoke, “Sir, the son of Duke Drakas is here.”

  Big Mona consciously fixed his tie. “Same place. Bring him to the room on the second floor.”

  “As you wish.”

  After his men finished their reports, Big Mona climbed the flight of stairs and went towards the room on the second floor. Just like before, a young noble, probably in his middle teens, awaited him while sitting on the couch.

  “How’s it?” Lark smiled the moment Big Mona entered. After the door shut tight, he added, “It’s more than a day, right? I’ve made sure those samples would light up for a long period of time.”

  “A day and seven hours to be exact.” Big Mona sat on the couch, his body sinking several inches in. “I doubt any kalranes from Emerald City’s capable of that.” He placed the samples given by Lark onto the table. “Those symbols engraved on the kalrane crystal – it’s the reason for that phenomenon, right?”

  “That much is obvious.” Lark took the smaller sample and played with it using his fingers. “A normal kalrane wouldn’t function like that otherwise.”

  As expected, Big Mona’s conjecture was spot on. He studied the young noble before him. Although the trick behind the kalranes was revealed, he remained unbaffled, as though he expected it.

  “You do realize that I can simply copy those symbols, no?” Big Mona’s voice was grim, almost threatening. “Even if you protest against it, I can simply shut your lips. Even your father wouldn’t notice.”

  Lark looked at the fat merchant, his eyes filled with amusement. He chuckled, “Is that supposed to be a threat?” Lightning crackled on the fingertips of Lark. After it channeled through the kalrane stone, the gem lit up for a split second then burst into minute pieces. Lark felt the men hiding in the shadows immediately move after that.

  “What are you doing?” Big Mona glared. He raised a hand, signaling his men to stop and stay hidden for now.

  Lark did not shrink and simply looked at the fat merchant in the eyes. “There’s no need to tell your men to keep hiding. I couldn’t care less anyway even if they’re here.”

  That statement baffled Big Mona. His pupils dilated for a moment, but he immediately regained his composure.

  But how did this young noble know that there were assassins hiding in the shadows of this room? Those men were warriors capable of competing even with low ranking knights. There was no way a noble dubbed as ‘incompetent’ by everyone would be able to sense them.

  But the lightning. It’s clear that this brat knows a bit of magic. And silent magic at that.

  Big Mona stormed his mind for possible explanations. For now, he decided to feign ignorance.

  “Men? What are you talking about—”

  Lightning shot from the fingertips of Lark and hit the wall next to the door. It was so sudden that Big Mona reflexively jumped up from his couch. After several seconds, coughing sounds were heard in the room as a figure clad in black emerged from the place the lightning hit. He wobbled for a moment but managed to remain standing.

  “That’s what I’m talking about,” said Lark. “There are nine of you. Come out, little pups.”

  Big Mona did not like what was happening. He could feel his grip on the negotiation table slowly slipping away from him.

  “Show yourselves,” said Big Mona.

  One after another, figures clad in black appeared next to the fat merchant. They grabbed the hilt of their swords as bloodlust seeped out of their bodies.

  “Your orders, sir?” said the leader.

  “Stand over there for now.” Big Mona pointed at the wall.

  “Understood.” The leader lowered his head. The assassin group went towards the wall and remained standing there, unmoving, eyes fixated on Lark.

  Big Mona sat again on the couch. He stared at Lark. “How?”

  “They’ve been tailing me for two days now,” said Lark. The black figures obviously flinched upon that statement. Big Mona bewilderedly looked over their direction. “Of course, I’ll notice.”

  Lark sighed. “Hey, it’ll be quite troublesome to make an enemy of a big wig like you, but listen – there’s no way for you to copy those symbols and inscriptions on the Kalranes. I’m pretty sure of it. I’m here to make a fair deal with you. You’re a merchant, right? It should be obvious by now that you’ll make loads of money from this.”

  If Lark had said these moments ago, back when he had not yet shown his abilities, Mona would have easily brushed it off as a joke. But now, he had this impression that this young noble was telling the truth. If there was a special method known only to him, and that it wou
ld be impossible for others to copy the symbols on the kalranes, then it would explain why he willingly gifted these stones to the Merchants Guild.

  Should he torture him and make him spit out information? Big Mona pondered for a while and eventually decided against it. The risk far outweighed the benefits. Furthermore, he was now unsure if the assassin group in this room would be capable of stopping him once he directly attacked the merchant. After all, this was the first time someone easily saw through his men hiding in the shadows.

  Although he would be unable to gain full monopoly in this deal, it would still be a good business proposition.

  Big Mona finally decided.

  “Alright,” sighed Big Mona. His predatory eyes turned cordial. “I’m sorry for the behavior of my men before,” he brushed off the incident as though he never gave them the order at all, “Rest assured, they’ll stop following you after this.”

  “And my men too,” added Lark. “Stop following them.”

  Big Mona almost swallowed. “Of course.” He looked at the larger sample of the kalrane stone. “I’ll get straight to the point. Two golds and fifty silvers for large ones, a gold for the smaller stones. How’s that sound?”

  “Three gold.” Lark raised three fingers. “A gold and fifteen silvers for the smaller ones.”

  The price was within Big Mona’s set haggling limits. He pretended to ponder for a while before eventually bobbing his head. “Alright.”

  Lark smiled and offered his hand. “Then, it’ll be a pleasure doing business with you from now on.”

  Big Mona shook his hand for a few seconds. “You said before that you plan on supplying kalranes to the entire Kingdom. I want to hear more of that plan.”

  “Of course,” said Lark.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  [United Grakas Alliance]

  The United Grakas Alliance was a large country composed of seventeen major beastmen tribe.

  Urkawi, a gorilla beastman and the Commander of the Third Legion, creased his brows as he read the reports sent from the front. His hairs stood on their edges as he shook in anger.