by Zhuang Bifan
"He got attacked by one Pyroblast and was already sent to the emergency…"
"F*CK. Watch out, Gryffindor!" Lin Li cursed through his gritted teeth. "Bring me to Orrin now."
"Alright…"
The two men rushed down the Omniscient Tower. When they arrived at the guild's treatment room, they saw Orrin unconscious, lying lifelessly on the bed. His usual pale face grew whiter and Lin Li could sense death just by standing outside the room.
Macklin was pacing to and fro beside the bed while cursing.
"Goddammit, you are a group of fools! Why are you hired by the guild when you don't even have the ability to find a priest?"
"Mr. Macklin, we have tried, but… but…" the two trainees replied meekly while they trembled in fear. "But, there is only a single priest in the whole of Alanna, and he had gone back to the Brilliance Shrine last month…"
"Damn you, Raleigh! So you returned to the Brilliance Shrine when I need you now! What the f*ck do you mean when you claim God has love for His people? You'd better stay at your shrine forever and never come back. Or else, I'm not going to forgive you…"
"The old man's temper has turned from bad to worse…" Lin Li mumbled before pushing the room's door open gently.
"Felic, you are finally here…" Macklin said as he sighed in relief when he saw Lin Li enter the room. He knew the abilities of this student. Lin Li would be the second person who could save Orrin apart from a Priest's theurgy.
"What happened?"
"It was all due to that foolish group of people. Goddammit, I'm not going to let that bastard Gryffindor off like this. If Orrin were to die in the Guild of Magic, how am I supposed to face his mentor? Quick, help me think of a way. Let's save his life first."
"Let me see…" Lin Li said as he nodded and sat in front of Orrin bed to look at his injuries.
Lin Li frowned right after that.
The effect of Pyroblast was not as bad. Although there was blood on his back, Orrin's organs were not injured at all. The real thing that endangered his life was another type of energy. When Lin Li sat in front of his bed, he could clearly see how black smoke dispersed from his wounds…
Lin Li knew trouble was big when he saw the black fumes.
He remembered how the similar fumes could have been found on McGrenn the other time.
But, Orrin's current situation was worse now.
That was right. It was the power of curse.
McGrenn fell under the Sleep Curse back then. Its effect was average as compared to other curses. One bottle of Dispelling Potion would suffice in clearing 80 percent of the curse. However, for Orrin now, 10 bottles of Dispelling Potion might not do the trick.
This time, Lin Li had a little headache.
Although he was proficient in pharmaceutics, he was not skilled in curses.
He could not tell what type of curse Orrin was put under. The black smoke could only show that Orrin's situation was worse than McGrenn's the previous time.
"It will not threaten his life yet…" Lin Li shook his head and stood up from his chair. He said gravely, "But, the situation is really bad. We might need to find someone to help us…"
"Find whom?" Macklin asked impatiently. "I will set off right away."
"Wait first…" After Lin Li stopped him, he took out a glass bottle, and said to Mason, "Brother Mason, help me get a bottle of clear water and mix this medicine inside. Portion it and feed it to Orrin three times every one hour. Remember, do not give it to him too early, or his body might not be able to take it."
"Alright." Mason nodded and went off to find clear water with the glass bottle in his hands.
After thinking for a while, Lin Li took out a crystal card from his pocket. "Mr. Macklin, could you send someone to Glittergold Bank for me?"
"Why are you going to the Glittergold Bank?" Macklin asked in surprise.
"To find someone," Lin Li replied as he gave the crystal card to Macklin. "Go and find any mage apprentice. Tell him to go to any Glittergold Bank to find Mr. Hoffman for Felic. Say that I would be waiting for him at the Guild of Magic."
"Alright…" Macklin received the crystal card and headed off to find Hoffman uneasily. He really did not believe a crystal card could bring Hoffman over. Despite that, he was going to try whatever he could to rescue Orrin. If Hoffman was not able to save him, Orrin would really die in Alanna Guild of Magic this time.
Not long after he left, Macklin stopped in his tracks again, and asked, "Then where are you going?"
"The curse on Orrin is too powerful. I'm going to find a priest to help."
"Priest? How would there be any other priests in Alanna after that bastard, Raleigh, returned to the Brilliance Shrine…?"
"I will explain to you when I come back…" Lin Li said as he left the treatment room in a hurry.
After exiting the guild hall, Lin Li called for a coach to send him in the direction of Dawn Cathedral immediately. It was the only cathedral in Alanna with the Brilliance Shrine. If Lin Li did not remember wrongly, when Archbishop Englos had talked to him the other time, he told Lin Li to look for him there if he were to face any difficulty in the coming month.
"Goddammit, now I owe two favors. I'm not going to let you off, Gryffindor!"
Chapter 250 - The Dry Soul Curse
Today, Dawn Cathedral was unusually bustling with activities. When Lin Li went over, he could see at least 10 coaches parked outside the door. Lin Li could not help but feel a little curious. Although he was mostly staying in the Guild of Magic, he would pass by the cathedral when he had errands to run, but Lin Li had never seen Dawn Cathedral so crowded before.
Felan was the Kingdom of Magic. In this land, all children knew being a mage would make one the most successful in his life. They believed in the power of elements and were curious about the mysterious knowledge of magic. A.d.u.l.ts were telling them repeatedly ever since they were born to put in hard work to study magic and become a true mage when they grew up.
The Brilliance Shrine had been planning to spread Dawn's teachings over this kingdom. Yet, what awaited them was not the blessing of Dawn, but a vigorous rejection they'd never faced before. From royalty to random peasants, none subscribed to Dawn. Their hearts were wholly filled with the pursuit of Magic, and could not make any space for Dawn.
An inn owner once said, if a mage and a priest visited his inn at the same time, the mage would get the best service, while the priest could only crouch in a corner to chew on burnt bread. This was the awkward position Dawn Cathedral faced in the Felan Kingdom.
Dawn's efforts over few hundred years did not see any rewards. Finally, even the pope burst out in rage, exclaiming, "Damn those heathens! Go to hell with your damn magic!"
In the recent one hundred years, no priest was willing to visit the Felan Kingdom. They were all clear that there was no meaning in preaching for Dawn there. Even the most religious believer could not help but admit how everyone had magic in their blood—even the miracles that happened to him could not reform them.
Dawn Cathedral was one of the few cathedrals in the Felan Kingdom. The unlucky Archbishop who was in charge of preaching for the cathedral was a middle-aged fatso named Raleigh.
This middle-aged fatso had really bad luck. He was a level-15 Priest, but just because he offended an authority figure in the Brilliance Shrine, he got sent to a place like Alanna.
Not to mention a level-15 Priest, no one would tolerate a level-20 Priest in the land of Alanna. Nobody cared about the Holy Light and their teachings. In Alanna, Raleigh was seen as a good doctor—a free one, though. The only group of people who would step into the Dawn Cathedral regularly would only be those low-level adventurers. What to do if they were to injure their hand due to battling a magical beast and did not want to pay a cent for their treatment? Raleigh was their answer, of course. His theurgy was rather good…
As for the lower-level adventurers, only ghosts knew how many of them were willing to listen to him spread his teachings…
No leade
r of any organization in Alanna actually acknowledged him. To them, Raleigh was a pitiful fella. Despite being the Archbishop of the Brilliance Shrine, he had zero authority and followers. Although Dawn Cathedral looked extremely grand and holy, it was only the appearance—inside, it was extremely desolate.
Raleigh's days were indeed pathetic. The number of followers he'd gathered was not more than two across the 20 years he worked in Alanna. His days here felt worse than death. Raleigh had been thinking of all the ways to leave the darn place for the past two decades. He definitely was the Archbishop that put in the most effort in the whole of the Brilliance Shrine. In a year, he would not be in Alanna for at least six months, venturing everywhere to establish social ties. All these efforts were just in hopes of being transferred from Alanna during his yearly deployment.
Hence, he had left Alanna again last month…
Who'd expect that Dawn Cathedral became so lively after Raleigh's departure. The few young priests were busy greeting the big shots who made their visit. No one came out to invite Lin Li even after he stood at the entrance for 10 minutes. If it were in the past, not only young mages, but also Raleigh himself would run out to invite them inside…
Lin Li got restless, standing at the door for such a long period of time. When a young priest walked past him, he stopped him immediately. "May I ask if Archbishop Englos is in?"
"You are…?" The young priest looked at Lin Li suspiciously. There were too many people who came to look for Archbishop Englos in the past month. Of course, none of them were religious followers. There were also none willing to believe in the Holy Light. These people who were visiting the cathedral had no other motive but to get potions from Archbishop Englos.
Being a pharmacist, Archbishop Englos had no choice too…
After so many days, the young priests had already learned how to read their visitors…
For example, from the appearance of the unfamiliar mage standing before them, his young age hinted that he had no status. By wearing a normal long robe, it suggested he did not have much money with him. In addition, the anxious expression on his face implied that it was his family or friends who got injured.
Without status and money, why did he still go to Dawn Cathedral? They had seen enough for the past one month.
"I am Felic, from the Guild of Magic."
"Oh…" The young priest nodded, and ordered his guest to leave. "Apologies Mr. Mage, Archbishop Englos is currently resting. If you are here for medications, I must dissuade you. You are not the only one who came here for medications recently."
"…" Lin Li nearly choked on his saliva. He wanted to defend himself, but he knew he had been labeled as an uninvited guest by the young priest.
If it was before, Lin Li would just leave. Since there was no point to get into a conflict with the young priests, there was no harm to stay away from them. But, it was different this time. Orrin was still lying on the sickbed. If he did not find Englos, even if Hoffman was proficient in curses, the frail Orrin might still not be saved.
"Get out of my way!" Lin Li had no more patience. He pushed the two priests aside, and dashed into the cathedral immediately.
The Dawn Cathedral today was not like the usual Dawn Cathedral. There were so many people visiting the cathedral these 10 days. Even if the young priests had been ignored by people previously, they had acc.u.mulated enough ire to face the mage that did not know his manners. One of them was fast enough to grab onto Lin Li's long robe, while another went in front of Lin Li to stop him.
"Stop!"
"GO AWAY!!" Lin Li screamed. He was very concerned for his bed-ridden teammate, whom he had known for two months. Being pulled back by the robe triggered him, causing him to unleash all the anger that he had been acc.u.mulating in a Power of Repulse.
How could the young priest who had not reached level-5 be able to endure the strength of an archmage? "BAM!". Before the young priest was able to hold onto the robe properly, an impregnable force blew him off. He was like a rock that smashed onto the street opposite of the cathedral.
"Little fella, let me remind you that this is Dawn Cathedral, where the Brilliance Shrine is. If you dare to play any games with us, your Guild of Magic might not even have the ability to save you!" two young priests beside him warned Lin Li sternly.
"Let me repeat it again. LEAVE ME ALONE!" Lin Li roared and forcefully let out a powerful magical wave. If Mason or Kevin was here, they would know that Lin Li was really enraged. If anyone were to obstruct him, it might cost lives.
Unfortunately, these young priests did not understand Lin Li well. Although they were a little afraid of the person standing in front of them, the thought of Archbishop Englos being with them here allowed them to muster their courage. A few young priests stood at the door and glared at Lin Li fearlessly.
The entrance of Dawn Cathedral became a mess at once. People sitting in the cars outside the cathedral looked out of their windows. They were curious who that daring man was to create such a fuss at such a timing. Did he not know that the man inside the cathedral was not that trashy Raleigh, but one of the four popes of the Brilliance Shrine, Englos?!
They thought that the young mage was doomed.
While the crowd was still commenting on the situation, they felt a strong sense of chill air coming from far. Everybody looked in its direction, only to see a corpse-like old man donning a long black robe alighting the coach.
"Sh*t, why is that man here…?" A few knowing people gasped. It was not the first time they saw him since they had been here almost every day. That guy was a monster that slaughtered lives blindly!
Hence, while the old man walked down the coach, some of them tried to hide in their cars. They could not help but worry for the young mage. He was doomed. What a waste of talent! Dashing into the cathedral aside, meeting the semi-undead monster showed how bad his luck was. The relationship between the monster and Englos was not shallow. They did not know if the pitiful young mage was going to be turned into a skeleton or a zombie…
No one expected that the young mage would laugh.
The more absurd thing was that the corpse-like old man was laughing too…
"What a coincidence, Master Felic!" Sendros had no reason not to laugh. Ever since the gathering at the Pharmacists Guild, he had been wanting to chat with that pharmaceutical genius. However, the two times he visited the Guild of Magic, he was told that Felic was not in. Then, he heard that that fatso Hoffman seemed to have struck a deal with this pharmaceutical genius a few days ago.
Sendros felt that he could not wait any further. If it were to continue, the pharmaceutical genius of Felan would be snatched by other forces. That was absolutely not something the Darkness Shrine hoped to see.
He was here at Dawn Cathedral to find Englos to discuss Orrin's situation. He hoped that the Darkness Shrine and the Brilliance Shrine would have an opportunity to collaborate.
He had not expected such a coincidence—to think he'd meet the pharmaceutical expert even before he found Englos. This luck was like a meat pie that dropped from the sky. Not to mention that Sendros was still a semi-undead monster, even if he became fully undead, he would still laugh completely hysterically.
"Hehe. Good afternoon, Master Sendros," Lin Li greeted the man smilingly. He knew the relationship between Sendros and Englos. Since Sendros was meeting Englos here, Lin Li's plan to see Englos shouldn't be an issue. "Oh, yes. Is Master Sendros here to look for Archbishop Englos?"
"Yeah. As I don't have much to do these few days, I'm coming here to find him for a chat."
"That's great. I have a matter that needs Archbishop Englos' attention. Since you also want to go in, can you help me to send a message?"
Sendros frowned, and asked doubtfully, "Why don't you go in yourself? If Englos knew you are here, he would be very happy."
"I…" Lin Li paused in his speech and laughed helplessly.
How would Sendros not understand his body language?
"Are you stopping him?" Sendros
glared at the young priests. His palish face had no expression, but there was a hint of bloodl.u.s.t in his eyes.
"Master Sendros, w-we… we really did not know this mage is acquainted with you…" the young priests muttered while they trembled. They could not believe that the seemingly status-less mage would know Sendros.
It was as if they had seen a ghost…
Who was Sendros? He was the man who controlled the whole Undead Army which had millions of members. To him, lives were mere consumables for his army. In the doc.u.mentation of the Brilliance Shrine, Sendros had long been recorded as a bloodthirsty devil. He launched more than 10 massacres, which led to at least thousands of casualties each time.
Who wouldn't be scared of such a person? Although the young priests were sincere followers, none of them were fanatics. They were also fearful of Sendros. They feared that the semi-undead monster would kill them and turn them into undead using evil spells.
Furthermore, he was a friend of Archbishop Englos.
That was right, they were friends.
People who were not aware of insider information would never understand how a priest who believed in the Holy Light and a mage who controlled the undead became acquainted. It was obvious that they were best friends, and everyone knew that the evil undead mage, Sendros, could to a large extent influence the decisions of Englos.
He didn't even have to kill these young priests directly. With just a line from him, they would be doomed.
The young priests' faces paled. Their gazes towards Lin Li betrayed their plea to be spared.
They knew that the only one they could depend on was the mage. If he would help to speak a few good words, they would be able to live on. They did not dare to stop Lin Li anymore. As long as their lives were intact, what else mattered even if they let another person in?
"It's only a small misunderstanding. All will be good after some explanation." Lin Li laughed it off. He was definitely not as petty as the young priests. "Oh, yes! Are you going to meet Archbishop Englos? Can I go with you?"
"Sure."
How would Sendros not understand Lin Li intended to forgive the young priests? Hence, Sendros nodded and walked into Dawn Cathedral.
