End of the Magic Era

Jers frowned.

‘This damned weakling doesn’t know how to respect the strong? With such a trashy level of strength, he actually dares to speak to me like that? It looks like I have to teach him a lesson.

‘…Right, it’s a lesson. I’m not putting down a weak human, but teaching a lesson to a wretched human to make him understand why he should respect a Dark Elven powerhouse. Even if that damned guy didn’t hurt Jeremy, he definitely watched. It could be said that this cowardly human was part of it. Wouldn’t he tell me what I want to know if I cut his limbs off and throw him outside of a Bloodthirsty Wasp nest? This damned human will serve as an example for the guy that harmed Jeremy!’

“Puny Human, are you trying to anger me? An 8th Rank Dark Elf Archmage?!” After saying those words, a huge amount of mana rose up from Jers’ body. He used pure mana to pressure Lin Yun, which could be considered the most humiliating way to get suppressed.

At that time, Elsa was rushing over, and before she even reached them, she shouted, feeling angry and startled at the same time, “Jers! What are you doing!? Stop now!”

Elsa was paling more and more, her fingers shaking. She unhesitantly stepped in front of Jers and chastised, “Jers, what the hell are you doing? This is our honorable guest! You dare to act against him?!”

Elsa’s eyes were wide open as she pointed a trembling finger at Jers, her heart about to jump out of her chest.

‘Too scary… That idiot Jers, so what if you are the most talented Dark Elf? You have no idea how terrifying this young human is! Hell, you would be scared to death if you knew what this human is capable of.

‘With just a few companions, he faced the ambush of a thousand Dark Elves and had no losses… The few of them stopped a thousand Dark Elves, can you do the same? And that was an ambush! And just that person alone, this seemingly weak 9th Rank High Mage, was able to counterattack during the ambush and take out a few hundred Dark Elves!’

‘Hell, Merlin even remained calm while facing the Orachiss, escaping easily without worrying about it at all. While facing Curio, his counterattacks were terrifying, and he even forced Duncan to go all-out before managing to secure an escape path. Is this someone you can afford to offend? If Merlin becomes unhappy because of your provocation, he would only need one hand to kill you, he wouldn’t even need his companions!’

‘Sh*t, and I almost forgot, Merlin is formidable Artisan! Foolish Jers, have you ever seen an Artisan in your lifetime? He had split his mind in four to crack an array as if four alchemists were working on it at the same time! Have you ever seen such a shocking situation? Do you know the consequences of provoking a formidable Artisan? You won’t even know how you died! And even your soul won’t be able to rest after your death! Is a powerful mage and powerful Artisan someone you can even provoke?’

‘Damnit, damnit, damnit, Merlin is also the person in our prophecy, do you still want to attack him? Heavens!’

Recalling what had happened, Elsa felt her blood go cold as if frozen by magic, and her teeth continuously shivering.

‘Damned Jers, you are causing big trouble! You are going to create a disaster for the Dark Elven Race!’

Despite looking so pale, Elsa clenched her teeth and blocked Jers’ path, glaring at him with an unyielding attitude.

“Jers, this is an important guest of our Dark Elven Race, if you dare to slight this guest, I’ll use my status of Dark Elven Princess to imprison you!”

Elsa deliberately emphasized the importance of the guest, hoping that Jers would back down.

But Jers suddenly got angry. Disbelief was plastered on his face as he pointed at Elsa with no manners.

“What? Elsa, you are actually helping an outsider? You’ll use your princess status for a puny and despicable human?”

Elsa hurriedly tried to persuade him. “Jers, this is really a VIP of our entire Dark Elven Race. Don’t be impulsive! If there is any matter, wait until the Great Elder wakes up before bringing it up! This is for your own good!”

‘It truly is! You truly don’t know how terrifying that “puny and despicable human” is. I’m fairly certain that you wouldn’t be able to injure him if you attacked. You would just end up paying a costly price. One could only know how fierce Merlin was after seeing him in action.’

…

A bit later.

“Advancing to the Heaven Rank? Are you making fun of me?” Elsa subconsciously exclaimed.

Lin Yun conscientiously shook his head. “I’m not joking, this is true. I want to try something. If it goes well, there is a high probability that you can advance to the Heaven Rank. But I’m not the kind of person to help for no reason. If it succeeds, you’ll need to serve me for two centuries.”

Shock could be seen on Elsa’s face as she foolishly looked at Lin Yun.

‘How could this be!? How could reaching the Heaven Rank be so easy?’

Although Dark Elves’ innate talents were outstanding and the whole Race was made of mages, there was still a gap in terms of talents when it came to comprehension. Wasn’t it necessary to understand Laws in order to advance to the Heaven realm?

‘Heavens, would Merlin trick me? There are many Archmages in the clan, but there are a lot less after the 5th Rank. Every Rank needs a long amount of time.

There were a lot of people in the tribe who advanced to the 9th Rank before being two centuries old, but they would die of age. No one reached the Heaven Rank.

The Great Elder reached the 9th Rank before his 150th birthday, but he was already over 800 right now and was only hoping to advance to the Heaven Rank.

‘I’m a 7th Rank Archmage right now, so how could Merlin have the confidence to let me break through to the Heaven Rank in a short time?’

‘He must be toying with me, that’s right, it’s definitely a joke… Wait, no. Merlin has never joked before. He didn’t talk big, and he did everything he set himself to do. Could this be true? But how could this be? I never heard of such a possibility… The Dark Elven Race has been around for so long, but nothing like that ever spread. There’s never been any mention of Dark Elves advancing to the Heaven realm in a short time.

‘Could there be a method from the world outside the God Nation? Right, Merlin is a formidable Artisan, he definitely knows many things from the outside world. No wonder he wants my blood to run some tests. Maybe there really is a way for me to advance to the Heaven Rank.

‘But what if there are side-effects? Well, it’s true that Dark Elves haven’t had a Heaven Rank powerhouse for so many years. It might be very hard for me to reach the Heaven Rank on my own. I’m only a bit over 100. Even if there are serious sequelae, I could spend the few hundred years I have left finding a way to make up for it…

‘Moreover, serving Merlin isn’t a very harsh condition. If I can advance to the Heaven Rank, serving him for two centuries isn’t unacceptable… But the main problem is, is this real? Why isn’t Merlin using that method on himself? Or on his companions? This couldn’t be…’

Elsa’s expression kept changing as her mind was completely disturbed by Lin Yun’s words.

Advancing to the Heaven Rank was a huge temptation, a temptation that couldn’t be resisted, and trading two centuries for it was nothing. Dark Elves had extremely long lifespans. Ordinary Dark Elves could live for a millennium or so, about ten times the life expectancy of humans.

And after advancing to the Heaven Rank, one’s lifespan would definitely increase again. Two hundred years would only be considered a small part of that life.

Elsa frowned, her complexion continuously changing. After a while, she couldn’t help asking, “Is this real? Can I really advance to the Heaven Rank in a short time?”

Lin Yun nodded. “Yes, but this process might need some time. You are a 7th Rank Archmage right now, so you’ll need time if you want to advance to the Heaven Rank. But that time is nothing when compared to your lifespan as a Dark Elf. However, the process might be very painful, so you had best make some preparations.”

Elsa couldn’t help looking happy when she heard that, before it turned to worry, and ultimately hesitation…

‘It seems like Merlin is very confident. The time needed is nothing; a few years or a few decades don’t matter. There is no problem as long as I can advance to the Heaven Rank. And suffering a bit of pain is nothing, as everything needs a price. Time and pain in exchange for a breakthrough to the Heaven Rank isn’t unacceptable.’

But was advancing to the Heaven Rank that easy?

Elsa helplessly shook her head and looked at Lin Yun, still hesitating a bit as she said, “Merlin, my mind is in chaos, I can’t think calmly about it. Can I go back first to consider it?”

Lin Yun nodded indifferently. “Go and think about it. But you had best give me your answer before I leave the Dark Elven Clan.”

Elsa finally relaxed. She had been afraid that Lin Yun would force her into making a choice now.

Elsa left in a hurry. Lin Yun didn’t seem worried. No matter who, breaking through to the Heaven Rank was a temptation no one could resist. After all, those at the Heaven Rank and those below the Heaven Rank could be considered two completely different species. Everything under the Heaven Rank could only be mortal.