Chapter 542: The Mysterious Stranger
"Nonsense, you're talking nonsense! My father will definitely come back to life..." Reina screamed hysterically, her silver eyes nearly blazing with fury. "Damn humans, don't think you can deceive me. I'm not that easy to fool!"
She didn't believe a word the young mage said...
During the Dragon-Slaying War years ago, her father stood firmly with the humans, helping them fight against the Five-Colored Dragons and the Pureblood Elves. She still didn't know why her father made that choice, but she trusted he had his reasons. Unfortunately, in the final battle, her father fell.
At that moment, Reina stared blankly at her father's corpse, overwhelmed with grief. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face, and she cried herself into unconsciousness. When she awoke, she found someone beside her—a figure wrapped entirely in a black robe, his appearance hidden. He claimed to be her father's friend.
Reina, still dazed, had no interest in dealing with this human and merely nodded absently. The man spoke for over half an hour, but she didn't listen at all, just kept nodding. However, when he finally revealed his purpose for seeking her, she vaguely heard him say he had a way to bring her father back to life.
Her first reaction was disbelief...
Her father's life had completely ended—how could he possibly come back?
She wondered if she had misheard...
But after confirming several times, she was sure she hadn't misheard—the mysterious man in the black robe had indeed said he could bring her father back to life.
Although she found it hard to believe, she didn't want to give up the chance. After a long conversation, she learned from the mysterious man about the existence of the Dragon Revival Array—a magical formation with incredible powers, capable of bringing the dead back to life.
Later, she learned that the mysterious man who had come to her was a being as powerful as her father, holding a very high status among the humans.
At the time, Reina had just reached adulthood, but she knew that a being of such stature had no reason to deceive her. She realized that her father might truly have a chance to return...
She sought out the mysterious man again and, as he requested, moved her father's remains to the Winterrealm. Then began a long wait—over thousands of years, Reina guarded this place, preventing any mishaps that could ruin the resurrection.
For thousands of years, she never stopped hoping that one day she would reunite with her father.
But now, a group of humans had suddenly barged into the palace, and one of the young mages told her that her father could never be revived—instead, he would become a terrifying undead creature. She couldn't accept this, no matter what.
After all, she had guarded this place for thousands of years, enduring endless loneliness and solitude, all for the hope of reuniting with her father.
Moreover, the mage who stood at the very peak of the Sky Rank had personally promised her that the Dragon Revival Array could bring her father back to life—it would just take a long time.
Someone of that level would never lie to her...
So, without hesitation, she assumed the young mage was trying to trick her for some hidden purpose. After all, the promise of a Peak Title Archmage carried immense weight—how could she possibly choose to believe a clueless young mage? Besides, she had always longed for a reunion with her father, and subconsciously rejected everything the young mage said.
Heh, looks like I'll have to find a way to convince you... Leon frowned, giving a dry chuckle. Reina's reaction was just as he expected, but he didn't mind—he really did have a way to prove what he said was true.
After absorbing the power of several high-grade Mana Crystals, he recovered somewhat. Suddenly, Leon activated his Mana Harness at full power, and soon detected an icebird hundreds of meters away from the palace. In an instant, a surge of magic formed a black hand, which extended from the palace and accurately grabbed the icebird, pulling it inside.
The icebird let out a screech—it was a level twenty-five creature, considered quite strong in the Winterrealm. But now, Leon easily grabbed its neck and, without hesitation, snapped it.
You... what are you doing!
Seeing the young mage's series of actions and his confident demeanor, Reina suddenly grew anxious. Could it be that the young mage really had a way to prove that the promise made by the Peak Title Archmage was a lie?
Just thinking about that possibility made her unable to stay calm.
What do you think?' Leon glanced at Reina, his tone calm. He intended to prove his words with facts, giving a meaningful smile before casting a spell to lift the icebird's corpse into the air. It floated toward the center of the palace, and with a soft 'thud,' landed on the ground.
Reina's silver eyes watched everything nervously.
The once quiet palace was suddenly disturbed by the icebird's corpse hitting the ground—like a stone thrown into a calm lake. Instantly, blinding light erupted from the dim area, countless runes rose into the air, illuminating the entire palace.
At that moment, Reina, who was watching closely, couldn't help but change her expression. She clearly sensed an extremely terrifying power slowly awakening—even with her level thirty-eight strength, she felt a chill in her heart.
At that moment, Reina's nerves were stretched to the limit—she couldn't calm down at all.
I don't know what you're trying to prove.
But then, the runes that had risen began to fade rapidly, eventually disappearing completely. The terrifying power receded like the tide. Seeing this, Reina finally breathed a sigh of relief, unable to resist a mocking smirk.
This meant the young mage really was just messing around—everything he'd said before must have been lies to fool her. After all, he couldn't prove anything.
Ridiculous, she'd actually wavered for a moment and almost believed the young mage.
It's not over yet...' Leon ignored Reina's sarcasm, his expression turning serious as he gazed at the center of the palace and spoke softly.
Not over...? Reina, whose temper was already fiery, became furious when the young mage said something so vague after tricking her. If he weren't holding a dagger to her throat, she would have taught him a lesson right then and there. But before she could finish her sentence, she involuntarily stopped.
That... that is...
Suddenly, a bone-chilling aura swept through the room. Reina was horrified to see that from the once quiet center of the palace came a creaking sound. She clearly saw the dead icebird's flesh vanish, leaving only a pale skeleton that, shrouded in cold energy, wobbled toward them.
It was a Wraithbird!
Its narrow eye sockets glowed with twin blue soulflames, flickering eerily in the dim light.
Reina stared at the Wraithbird, completely stunned.
At that moment, a spark shot from Leon's fingertips, followed by a surge of magical energy. As he channeled power into it, the spark rapidly grew—a Fireball spell trailing a long tail of flame shot out, exploding with a thunderous boom and blasting the Wraithbird away. Shards of bone flew in all directions from the force of the explosion.
Just as Leon expected, the icebird, originally level twenty-five, underwent a dramatic transformation after being converted to an undead by the Dragon Revival Array. Even after being blasted by a Fireball, it was only slightly injured. But Leon didn't stop—his Doombringer Staff flashed as he cast Fireball after Fireball at the Wraithbird. Only after the eighth Fireball did the skeleton shatter completely, leaving behind a glowing Necrotic Essence among the charred remains.
Leon couldn't help but frown—the Wraithbird's power growth was astonishing, nearly equal to a second-tier Peak Title Archmage. In other words, after conversion to an undead, its rank increased by seven levels.
Three months ago, he'd encountered the same thing—a level fifteen Fire Lizard, whose corpse fell into the Dragon Revival Array and was converted into an undead, gaining ten levels.
He gradually figured out a pattern—the stronger the creature was in life, the longer the conversion to undead took. The fifteen-level Fire Lizard took less than ten seconds, but the twenty-five-level icebird needed a full half-minute.
As for the Frost Dragon that once stood at the Peak Title Archmage level...
The conversion process could only be described as endless—taking thousands of years.
If that Peak Title Archmage Frost Dragon were to...' Just thinking about the Frost Dragon successfully converted to an undead made Leon break out in a cold sweat. If that happened, its power would certainly be amplified.
Then...
The Frost Dragon, as an undead, would be unimaginably powerful—far beyond Sky Rank, one of the strongest undead ever recorded in Northend World history!
If it appeared in Northend World, it would spell disaster—no mage could possibly stand against it.