Silver vs. Legend

"What do you know about the Fountain of Greed?" Edric asked.

"What?" Orrin was taken aback. He had suspected that the young man before him was no ordinary human, but a powerful individual concealing his true strength. However, he hadn't expected Edric—who had been so careful in maintaining his disguise—to suddenly ask a question that completely shattered it.

Ordinarily, one couldn't determine a knight's strength just by looking at them. But this wasn't an absolute rule.

Ghosts, in particular, possessed an innate ability to sense life force. The stronger the knight, the greater their life energy, making it possible to estimate their rank. Mages, too, had spells that could detect a knight's power.

Orrin was a ghost, and he happened to know two silver-ranked spells capable of gauging an opponent's strength. He had secretly used both on Edric. Yet, he found nothing. This meant only two possibilities—either Edric was truly an ordinary human, or he was strong enough to completely resist silver-ranked detection spells.

Before, Orrin had been uncertain. But after hearing that question, he knew the truth.

Edric was far beyond him.

Understanding this, Orrin answered, "I heard it last appeared in the Northern Ocean, a few hundred miles off the Green Volcano."

Edric nodded, then said, with a serious tone, "Stay still, okay? I'm going to try something."

Orrin subtly tightened his grip on a defensive spell crystal, ready to activate a protective formation at a moment's notice. Outwardly, however, he simply nodded.

Edric was no ordinary mage—he was a legend. He had mastered many silver-ranked spells, and thanks to his now-upgraded talent, he had even modified and improved several of them. His brainwashing spells, in particular, were far more effective than before.

But against Orrin, he wasn't sure if they would work.

Orrin was a ghost. His spiritual and magical defenses were incredibly strong. Edric had no trouble brainwashing silver-ranked knights, but silver-ranked mages were different—especially silver-ranked ghosts. Their resistance to such spells was naturally high.

Even with his legendary red mana, a silver-ranked spell was still just a silver-ranked spell. No matter how much he enhanced it, there was a limit to its power.

Mana was like fuel. No matter what kind of fuel one poured into an ordinary car—be it jet fuel, rocket fuel, or even nuclear fuel—the car would never exceed its mechanical limits. To go beyond, the vehicle itself had to be upgraded.

But Edric hadn't reached the golden talent yet. Creating golden-ranked spells wasn't something he could accomplish in a short time. So, for now, he had to make do with enhanced silver spells.

Despite being a legendary mage, Edric lacked a single non-demonic spell capable of controlling a silver-ranked ghost like Orrin. For a legendary rank, this was a rather shameful flaw. However, it was understandable—after all, he had ascended like a comet, leaving him with little time to study and master spells. Other legendary mages spent centuries refining their craft, ensuring they had no such weaknesses.

Of course, Edric did possess a skill—"Mind Manipulation." It allowed him to control anyone below golden rank instantly and without mana cost, so long as they lacked golden or higher-tier mental defenses.

But he didn't want to use it.

Orrin was nothing more than an insect before him, and Edric was having too much fun playing with him.

Pouring his legendary mana into the spell formation, Edric swiftly cast "King's Decree." This spell, personally enhanced by him, made its target perceive the caster as their rightful king. It was the same spell he had used on the female ghost earlier.

"Quadruple-Boosted King's Decree!" Edric chanted, activating his Double Spell skill at the same time.

Double Spell skill was independent of the ordinary spell multiplier, and its effect was nothing short of extraordinary. There was a reason it was classified as a legendary skill.

A double-cast, quadruple-boosted spell meant that Edric's silver-ranked "King's Decree" had been pushed to an unfathomable level. Though it hadn't crossed the golden threshold, it had reached the absolute pinnacle of silver-ranked spells.

For most silver mages, casting a double-boosted spell—let alone a quadruple Spell—would take several seconds of careful preparation. But Edric, with his legendary red mana, unleashed it in just a hundredth of a second.

For a legendary mage, silver-ranked spells were simply too easy.

Before Orrin could react, "King's Decree" struck him.

"Sh*t!"

A fraction of a second later, Orrin felt an overwhelming sense of danger. He immediately cast "Dispel Magic," but it had no effect. Edric's spell had already latched onto his soul, attempting to worm its way into his mind.

But Orrin resisted.

A ghost's soul and mind were far harder to manipulate than those of a silver-ranked knight. Edric's spell was at its absolute peak—a silver spell pushed to its limits—but it still failed to breach Orrin's defenses.

The spell failed.

All of this transpired in less than a tenth of a second.

Realizing that Edric was now a confirmed threat, Orrin no longer held back. He immediately activated the formation's power, attempting to suppress Edric and buy himself time to escape.

Even though he had resisted Edric's spell, Orrin had no intention of fighting. Resisting that kind of mental manipulation had already been difficult. Considering that his strongest trait was his mental and spiritual defenses, the idea of actually defeating Edric was nothing more than a delusion.

To Orrin, Edric was a monster in human skin.

Casting such a powerful silver-ranked spell in an instant—without preparation—implied that he was at least a golden-ranked mage who, for some reason, was still using silver magic. 

A silver mage could never defeat a golden mage.

Edric simply stood there, deep in thought.

"As expected… No matter how much I boost silver spells, they still have limits. I must upgrade my spells to the golden rank or find a new golden-rank magic spellbook."

As things stood now, even though he was a legendary mage, his actual mage-related combat power was far weaker than it should be.

This was the weakness of mages.

When knights advance to the legendary rank, they gain overwhelming physical strength and raw power, allowing them to fight at full capacity without relying on advanced techniques. But mages? A legendary mage cannot wield legendary-level combat power without corresponding legendary-ranked spells.

Orrin was getting farther and farther away.

Edric watched him go and smirked.

"What an interesting ghost. He's nothing like that female ghost from before… much more civilized."

But he couldn't let him leave. 

For now, he didn't want anyone who had interacted with him to walk away.

Still, killing him wasn't necessary.

Edric had been trying to suppress his darker urges lately. Killing a peaceful, intelligent being—ghost or not—when other options were available felt… exhilarating. That is exactly why he chose not to do it.

So, instead, he activated his golden-ranked skill.

"Mind Manipulation."

Orrin, who had been fleeing at full speed, suddenly stopped.

"Answer my questions," Edric commanded.

"Yes," Orrin responded emotionlessly.

"Where did the Fountain of Greed last appear, and where will it appear next?"

"It last appeared two hundred miles north of the Green Volcano, in the middle of the Northern Ocean. As for where it will appear next, I don't know," Orrin replied.

He pressed further.

"How are ghosts created? How does one become one?"

He already had a strong suspicion, but he wanted confirmation.

"The only way to become a ghost is to be contaminated by the Fountain of Greed," Orrin stated flatly. "Every few decades, when the Flicker Empire arrives, they scatter small amounts of the Fountain's water in various locations across Greenmoon Island. Their reasons are unknown, but that is why we exist."

"Interesting." Edric thought.

"Now," he commanded, "tell me the locations of all the ghosts you know. Also, give me any magic books you have, along with all the silver-ranked spells you know."

Without hesitation, Orrin began speaking—holding nothing back.

...

"Why am I here?"

Orrin stood in his garden, confused. He couldn't remember why he was outside.

"Wait… why is the defensive formation activated? Something happened!"

Panic surged through him as he bolted toward his house, determined to find the cause.

But after a thorough check, he found nothing.

"A malfunction?"

Doubt lingered, but he decided to inspect the formation immediately.

Yet, there was no problem. Everything was functioning perfectly.

For hours, he searched for clues, trying to piece together what had happened. But no matter how much he thought, he found absolutely nothing.

A cold realization crept over him.

"I need to leave."

The most logical explanation was that a golden-ranked mage had come, done something to him, and then erased his memories.

"But why would a golden-ranked mage be interested in me?"

A shiver ran through his spectral form.

Not wasting another second, Orrin gathered his things and left immediately.

He had no idea what had been done to him, but there was no way he was going to stay here and wait for that mage to return.

His next course of action was clear—he would seek out one of the golden-ranked ghosts he knew and ask her to inspect his soul for any abnormalities.

Despite his reclusive nature, Orrin was well-connected and familiar with many golden-ranked ghosts.

...

Meanwhile, Edric floated in the sky, glancing at the long list scribbled onto a piece of parchment.

A list of every silver and golden-ranked ghost's location—all obtained from Orrin.

"I really didn't expect such an isolated ghost, hidden deep in the jungle, to know so many golden-ranked ghosts."

"It seems ghosts are more social than I thought."

And with that, he vanished into the clouds.