Legend of the Arch Magus: Curse of Agares

by Michael Sisa

  Lark listened silently. He remembered the harsh words he’d said to her back then.

  “It’s true. I’m powerless! I’m not good with the sword like Parzival, and I’m not proficient in magic like Chryselle! No wonder you told me I’ll be just baggage.”

  The princess clenched her fists. She looked at Lark straight in the eyes. “That’s why, please… I heard from Chryselle that you’re probably the greatest mage in this country. Please teach me magic!”

  Silence befell the room.

  Lark stared at the quivering princess. Judging by her personality, it must have taken everything just to say these things to him in person.

  After some time, he spoke, “I dislike being entangled with royals.”

  Lark knew firsthand how bothersome it was to be associated with High Nobles, especially back in his previous life.

  “Learning magic is not something you decide out of a whim, Princess.” Lark raised three fingers. “Talent, mana pool, unwavering determination. You need at least two of these three to be even remotely proficient in magic. There are a lot of people with talent but they were born with mediocre mana pool—and they could never achieve greater heights because of that. There are people with vast mana pools but lack the talent to utilize it, and they’re stuck with lackluster spells incapable of killing even the weakest beasts.”

  “And unwavering determination, Princess. Determination. Unless you can prove to me that you have all these three, I won’t teach you.”

  “But you said that you only need to fulfill two of them to be even remotely proficient!” protested the princess.

  “I told you. I dislike being involved with royals,” said Lark. He blatantly showed that he had no interest in taking her in as a student. “Curing His Majesty is a matter of life or death, and there’s nothing I can do but help with it. But teaching you magic is an entirely different matter, Your Highness.”

  The Princess bit her lip. “As long as I fulfill all three, you’ll teach me?”

  There was a small pause before Lark replied.

  “Of course.”

  The Princess turned around and went for the door. She planned on seeking Chryselle’s help after this. For some strange reason, she really wanted to prove this idiotic lord wrong. This Lark Marcus was too arrogant. He even refused to become the magic instructor of a royal.

  “Don’t go back on your promise.”

  Seeing those determined eyes, Lark smiled. “I won’t. You have my word, Princess.”

  CHAPTER 11

  The royal knights under the crown’s direct command made their way to the Forbidden Region of the Kingdom. After passing through Boris County, they kept heading southwest, eventually arriving at a vast, dead plain. The ground was barren, filled with cracks, and not a single plant was in sight. From the cracks, green smoke oozed out.

  “Pitch the tents, ground tie the horses,” said Symon, the captain of the royal knights. “The masks, put them on.”

  The knights started putting masks on themselves and the horses. They started pitching tents. The royal court magician—Wisgarus “The Fortress”—started casting his spell, creating a two-meter-tall rock wall around them.

  “Are we camping here for the night?” said Wisgarus, a small middle-aged man with balding hair.

  Captain Symon nodded. “Yes, Lord Magician. It’ll be better for my men to rest before we dive into the labyrinth at the center of the ruin. We’re still far from the City of Bones, so it should be safe.”

  Wisgarus didn’t seem satisfied with the captain’s plan. He looked at the green smoke oozing out of the cracks on the ground. He didn’t like the idea of camping on the ground filled with flesh-eating poison.

  “Minerva,” said Wisgarus.

  A stubby woman with graying hair sighed. “I know.”

  She cast her spells and a translucent bubble enclosed the entire camp, filtering out the green smoke and preventing it from entering. It was only after the woman cast her barrier did Wisgarus finally relax.

  Although the stubby woman looked unreliable at first glance, she was among the royal court magicians of the Kingdom. Minerva “The Sylphid,” the most proficient magician in the Kingdom when it came to barrier magic.

  These two magicians held the most formidable defensive spells in the entire Kingdom. During the last war with the Empire, they were tasked with defending the capital as the Coalition Army made its way toward Yorkshaire Fortress. But after the king collapsed during the celebratory banquet, these shields were now tasked to retrieve a certain flower in this region.

  “Wisgarus,” said Minerva. “What do you think of this expedition?”

  The two royal court magicians gazed at the knights moving about.

  “You heard the divination of Ropianna, right?” Wisgarus smiled wryly. “But you still came here, despite that.”

  Minerva clicked her tongue. “All of these young ones would die if I didn’t come. That damn flower. Why did it have to grow inside a labyrinth, of all places?”

  “But there’s also the Endless Forest?” Wisgarus chuckled.

  “Don’t be stupid. You know it too. The flower won’t grow in that region. It’s clearly a decoy to prevent that naïve princess from leading her knights to this region. The real thing is in here. Inside that stupid dungeon.”

  Wisgarus and Minerva fell silent. According to the divination by Ropianna, more than half of the Royal Knights would die during this expedition. Still, the two of them came regardless. Maybe this way, they’d be able to prevent more deaths.

  Unfortunately, the divination from the Water God didn’t tell them whether or not the expedition would be a success. It simply told them that more than half of the expedition members would perish in battle.

  The two royal court magicians hoped that their presence here would be enough to tilt the odds in their favor.

  ***

  After resting overnight, the expedition team immediately set out at dawn, leaving behind the porters and the horses at the camp. Armed to the teeth and carrying several days’ worth of rations, they entered the ruins.

  According to historians, these ruins dated back several centuries ago, at a time when the Kingdom hadn’t yet existed. Some historians claimed that it was older than the Great Empire itself, that it was a ruined city from the age of magic.

  No one knew why the ruins were protected by very strong monsters, nor why a labyrinth was at its center. They could only speculate on what kind of treasure was being kept there.

  The expedition team continued moving toward the heart of the ruin, all the while avoiding the flesh-eating smoke oozing out of the ground. Their entire body was clad in armor, preventing the smoke from directly touching their skin.

  It was a known fact that the moment the green smoke touched one’s skin, it would corrode it just like the spit of a male basilisk. This was the reason very few dared to venture into this territory. The foolish ones who did so, frequently found themselves melted into nothing but bones.

  After walking for an hour, the expedition team finally encountered monsters.

  Five serpents, with bodies resembling cacti, shot out of the ground unannounced and attacked the royal knights. Each of them was at least seven meters long, with bodies large enough to swallow a person whole. Some of them tried swallowing their prey, while the rest spat out greenish fluid which screamed of the word ‘poison.’

  Fortunately, these monsters weren’t covered in hard scales like the basilisks. The royal knights easily fended off the attacks and killed the green serpents in less than a minute.

  As expected of an elite unit composed entirely of Royal Knights and two royal court magicians, monsters of this caliber weren’t even a threat at all.

  Without resting, the expedition team continued its way toward the heart of the ruins—toward the labyrinth at the center. As they came nearer the labyrinth, more and more monsters started appearing.

  Sand-burrowing centipedes, rock golems, poison wisps, man-devouring cacti. Monsters capable o
f wiping out platoons of regular soldiers kept attacking them one after another.

  When a horde of giant, poisonous scorpions appeared, the expedition team finally started suffering casualties.

  Minerva furrowed her brows. They hadn’t even reached the labyrinth yet, but the knights were already dying. The number of monsters infesting the ruins was simply endless. Even after killing several of them, hordes would still come and attack them.

  Maybe this expedition was a mistake after all. It was simply too dangerous to challenge the Forbidden Region.

  As she was contemplating whether or not to suggest a retreat, Wisgarus started to cast his magic. Three carriage-sized golems sprouted from the ground and blocked the hordes of giant scorpions. With every sweep of their hands, several giant scorpions were sent flying.

  “Now!” shouted Wisgarus.

  The knights understood and immediately used this opening to run toward the labyrinth.

  The labyrinth was in stark contrast to the ruins. It stood majestically tall, and it reminded the knights of the temple in the capital. The walls were covered in bronze, and two large statues of knights holding spears stood right at the entrance. It looked brand new, as though the monsters in the ruins had never touched it.

  According to records, the monsters in the ruins wouldn’t give chase once you’d reached the entrance to the labyrinth. For some reason, even the ferocious monsters refused to come near it.

  With the golems holding off the horde of giant scorpions, the expedition team finally made it to the labyrinth’s entrance. They halted next to the large statues to catch their breath. As expected, the giant scorpions stopped chasing after them after reaching this place.

  Captain Symon looked at his men. They’d just lost seven royal knights from that encounter, even after receiving help from two royal court magicians. Now, only around eighty knights remained.

  Captain Symon steeled his resolve. Now was not the time to feel disheartened.

  “Royal knights!” snarled Captain Symon. “We’ll be entering the labyrinth soon. Be vigilant and never lose your focus! Our goal is the flower. The Tears of Ubroxia. I’m sure everyone has been briefed beforehand what the flower looks like. The moment you see it, inform everyone! We’ll immediately retreat once we get the flower! Understood?”

  “Yes, Captain!” the knights replied in unison.

  After catching their breath and fixing their weapons and tools, the expedition team entered the labyrinth. Minerva cast several orbs of light and illuminated their immediate surroundings.

  For a moment, she was stunned seeing the labyrinth’s interior. It was beautiful, as though this place hadn’t been touched by the passage of time.

  The murals on the walls looked brand new, and even the bronze-plated pillars glimmered upon the touch of light. Whoever made this labyrinth must have been a very wealthy figure in the past. And judging by the monsters roaming in the ruins, the creator of this labyrinth didn’t have the slightest intention of letting people trespass.

  Wisgarus stared silently at the murals on the walls. While looking at them, he couldn’t help but feel shivers. He’d studied the archaic language of the lost era—the age of the Magic Empire. He could read some of the letters carved on the walls and pillars.

  “Qeurvanu,” mumbled Wisgarus. “I see. So this labyrinth was created by the God of Poison.”

  Minerva froze upon hearing this. Qeurvanu was a magician from the age of magic. Although he died after attempting to revive his master, he was said to be the sole magician to have reached the pinnacle of poison magic. Poison strong enough to reduce its prey to nothing but bones.

  Captain Symon noticed the terrified faces of the royal court magicians.

  “Lord Magician,” the Captain said grimly. “I do not know who Qeurvanu is, but he must have been a very powerful magician, for him to be dubbed as the God of Poison. Still, I have no intention of turning back until we get our hands on the flower. I’m sure the other knights feel the same.”

  Minerva and Wisgarus looked at each other. Honestly, they wanted to stop this expedition now that they’d found out that this place was created by Qeurvanu. But considering Captain Symon’s personality, they knew that trying to convince him would be futile.

  The captain and his knights would surely try to retrieve the flower even if Minerva and Wisgarus left the team.

  “No matter what?” said Minerva.

  “No matter what,” Captain Symon said firmly.

  Minerva sighed. “Alright.”

  Wisgarus rubbed his forehead. He was starting to feel his head ache.

  “Younglings,” he said to the knights, “we’ll probably encounter poisonous traps and monsters here. Prepare yourselves. We’ll continue with the expedition, but be sure to heed our orders.”

  The knights had resolved themselves before coming to this place. They replied resolutely, “Yes!”

  “Symon, I can read some of the words written here,” said Wisgarus. “There might be traps. Let me lead the way.”

  “Of course. As you wish.”

  “Minerva, you’ll be responsible for the rear.”

  “I know, old man,” she spat.

  With Wisgarus at the lead, the expedition team started the search for the flower on the first floor of the labyrinth. Surprisingly, the first floor didn’t have any monsters or traps in it. It was simply filled with beautiful murals, depicting what it was like back in the magic era.

  It took them three hours to search through the entire first floor. Although it was unfortunate that they couldn’t find the flower, they managed to confirm that this floor was a safe haven for the expedition team. They decided to rest here for the day and continue with their search tomorrow, on the second floor of the labyrinth.

  The next day, they immediately went toward the stairs leading to the second floor. An ominous placard stood right at the entrance. It was written with archaic words and letters from the era of magic, but Wisgarus managed to decipher it:

  Beyond this door is a place of anguish and death.

  An ominous warning from the God of Poison himself.

  After reading this, Wisgarus couldn’t help but shudder. The mural next to the entrance to the second floor was especially disturbing. It depicted an image of a monster with seven serpentine heads.

  CHAPTER 12

  After a long flight of stairs, the expedition team arrived on the second floor of the labyrinth. It was a stark contrast to the first floor; instead of a grandiose hall filled with murals, the second floor was your typical cavern with uneven ground, stale air, and forked paths. Glowing plants, which resembled algae, covered portions of the walls, providing some illumination to the expedition team.

  Wisgarus cast his spell and two humanoid golems sprouted out of the ground. He cast another spell and a floating eyeball clad in flames manifested itself before him. The eyeball moved several meters in front of the expedition team, the golems closely following behind it.

  “Poison wisps ahead,” said Wisgarus.

  The floating eyeball enabled him to see far into the distance, despite the darkness of the cavern.

  Upon hearing of the presence of poison wisps, Minerva immediately cast her barrier magic. Translucent bubbles surrounded each member of the expedition team. The moment they finally confronted the wisps, the barriers prevented the poisonous gas from making contact with the knights’ bodies.

  The knights easily culled the poisonous wisps they encountered along the way. With barriers protecting the knights, the floating smoke monsters were killed one after another after their nucleus was shattered by sword strikes.

  As they went deeper into the second floor of the labyrinth, the golems finally activated some of the labyrinth’s traps.

  Clicking sounds were heard, and a gap between the walls opened. A split second after, dozens of arrows shot from the wall and pierced the body of the two golems, its impact strong enough to shatter even their heads. Judging by the sizzling sound after the arrow made contact with rocks
, it was probably poisonous and corrosive.

  And as though the arrows weren’t enough, the spikes above the ceiling formed cracks and fell down, destroying what remained of the golem’s bodies. Clouds of dust flew about and the expedition team stared at the remnants, their expressions grim.

  Although they’d encountered only poison wisps so far, it seemed that the second floor was filled with traps. And to make things worse, those traps were clearly poisoned. Thankfully, they had two royal court magicians with them. They should be able to safely move past this area as long as they tread carefully.

  After his golems were destroyed, Wisgarus cast his spell once again and created a fresh batch of golems. Just like before, the floating eyeball and the golems moved in front of the expedition team. The traps—from pits, poison arrows, whirling blades, and spears—shot toward the golems one after another, destroying them in an instant.

  Wisgarus continued creating golems to bear the full brunt of those traps. The knights, on the other hand, dealt with the poison wisps. This simple tactic proved effective, as they finally arrived at the entrance to the third floor of the labyrinth.

  As expected, they didn’t encounter any flowers on the second floor. According to the divination from the Water God, the flower was located on the lower floors of the labyrinth.

  Just like before, the expedition team descended a long flight of stairs and arrived at the third floor. It also resembled a cavern, but the walls were twice as wide. Large webs filled the walls and the ceiling.

  Wisgarus halted in his tracks. Noticing the magician’s hesitation, Captain Symon asked, “What is it, Lord Magician?”

  Wisgarus frowned. Using the floating eye, he saw an ominous-looking sight at the room ahead.

  “Eggs. Human-sized eggs,” he said. He looked at Minerva and added, “Three of them.”

  Wisgarus started casting his spell. The ground below him shook and shot up, before latching to his body and forming an armor. From head to foot, scales made of strengthened rock covered Wisgarus’ body. This was the infamous spell that earned Wisgarus his moniker—The Fortress. It was well-known that Wisgarus’ rock armor was stronger than iron, and at the same time as flexible as hemp rope.