CHAPTER 45: ISLAND

It took Zephyr almost an hour to walk to the land bridge connecting the island to the mainland. He gazed at the mangrove forest on his right for a while before taking out the cup.

He could feel the turbulent manna flow around the island. He knew for a fact that the necromancer was busy awakening the godspawn.

So, he had no fear of being discovered.

Even if the necromancer had called for backup after Gale died, it would take some time before they reached the island.

Zephyr took out the cup and held it in his hand. Then he activated the search spell inscribed in his mana cores.

Immediately, a flash of light flew out of his hand, touched the cup, and then flew up into the sky, releasing a sound similar to a bell ringing. A while later, a feeble echo came from the island.

As expected, the villagers were on the island. And the owner of the random cup is still alive...or he was turned into a ghoul.

’I hope this works.’

He muttered, walking towards the island.

—

The necromancer was busy sacrificing the villager when he heard the sound of a search spell exploding above him.

The ringing sound was just like the one Zephyr had used in the past.

With Gale dead, the necromancer felt his heart thump when the search spell activated near him. He instantly knew Zephyr was coming for him.

Immediately, he gave orders to the dozen or so ghouls he made with the villagers’ corpses to protect him.

For some reason, in the battle between Gale and Zephyr, the weakest person won. The necromancer still had no idea about what had happened. So, he believed that Zephyr somehow brought reinforcement and was hunting him down.

With the dark fog dispersed, he had no way of sensing what was happening outside. As a result, his fear grew even more.

However, even at that moment, he failed to believe Zephyr was the one who fought and beat Gale.

—

Zephyr was initially uninterested in taking risks. But with one of his arms gone, he knew fate was playing a cruel trick on him.

His future was murky and bleak. He didn’t know what would happen or when it would happen.

The game world and the fate it bestowed were haunting him like a ghost. That was why he changed his method and decided to go on the offensive.

Zephyr was a man drenched in water, so he didn’t mind taking a dip in the pool.

Maybe something worthwhile will happen. Or, he would die. Neither scared as much as a worthless life.

With those thoughts running through his mind, Zephyr ventured into the island.

—

The land bridge connecting the island to the mainland was half-submerged in water. The tide was slowly rising as time passed.

Zephyr had to cross the one-kilometer-long trip before it could swallow him. So, he quickened his pace.

The waves rushed up to his knees again and again, relentlessly, with the intent to push him over. However, he took steady steps forward.

What remained of his left arm ached as he forced his way through the water. But it couldn’t stop him.

’What kind of Godspawn is it?’ He wondered as he walked.

Though Gale’s memory showed him the fog formation, the whirlpool, and the rising ancient temple made of black stones, it didn’t have any information about the type of godspawn.

’Most Godspawns in the game had distinctive abilities. For example, the Mountain King, a gorilla-like godspawn, could change the phase of the ground, turning it into flowing liquid or a sturdy wall instantaneously.’

’Last time I defeated it by nuking the entire mountain. That was one hell of a tricky battle. Without the short-distance teleportation spell, I would have died.’

’But I don’t have any good movement skills, right now.’

While playing the game, there were four important types of spells you must engrave in your core. They were a mana gathering spell, a movement spell, an attack spell, and a defensive spell. If you can find any, engraving a healing spell was also great.

Without these spells, venturing deep into the Arcana Link world was a death sentence.

Zephyr was currently going towards a temple that was about to spawn a godspawn without any of the above requirements fulfilled.

Even the attack spell he just created and was so proud of was nothing in front of a godspawn. It might help him kill the necromancer if he could take him by surprise. But no way in hell would he be able to kill a godspawn with it.

Zephyr knew it clearly.

That was why he was hurrying to the island. Before the necromancer awakens the godspawn, he had to kill the damned man.

’For thirty years, the necromancer used the life essence of sea life brought by the storm season to grow the godspawn. Now, he is just days away from completing his mission. To hasten the process, he is using the villagers’ life essence.’

’I could delay him by freeing the villagers. I could also kill him while he is preoccupied. Either way is fine.’

’By the time I am done with him, the Storm Tower backup will reach here.’

’If possible, I should also loot the temple the godspawn is in.’

Zephyr looked into the far distance. There, he could see a swirling torrent of fog rising into the sky. It was touching the dark thunderclouds above.

Rain began to drizzle down continuously as he approached the island.

And just as he closed in on the beach, he saw the terrifying scene of hundreds of toddler-sized crabs crawling slowly. They looked exhausted, moving only a few feet every second.

Together, they were walking to the center of the island, possibly to the other side.

Zephyr stood silently in the water while covering his entire body with a thin layer of mana. With his absolute mana control, he could mask his presence by solidifying the mana around him.

He intended to use this ability to avoid the detection of the crabs.

Fortunately, that worked out fine.

The crabs didn’t sense Zephyr. He moved stealthily through the beach, avoiding the eyes of the crabs, and followed them.

The necromancer was absorbing the life essence of the crabs to fuel his obsession. By following the crabs, Zephyr would find him.