Mage Legend
Chapter 162 - 57. Failure

No one spoke along the way; no one had the mind or courage to speak. From deep within the distant tunnels came the faint low roars of animals, yet the Dark Elves did not pause for a moment, their eyes fixed forward, for their matron had commanded it so. Here, in this dark world, they were the kings, they were the overlords. Even the most mindless creatures wouldn’t dare to attack these black-skinned beings—though they were much smaller than those creatures, their formidable strength had long been imprinted in the memory of all living things.

Lynch walked in the middle of the group, involuntarily admiring the military precision of the Dark Elves’ training. The long passage of time had led them to abandon the original elves’ romantic and elegant style, becoming harsh and precise. At the same time, they had greatly advanced the elves’ martial skills—to be faster, simpler, and deadlier. Whether they were agile warriors or powerful priests, each was an assassin.

After walking for about half a day, the Dark Elf troop returned to their starting point. Lynch looked at the surrounding terrain, the enormous cavern and the intact platform. This was the location where the Dark Elves had emerged from the teleportation gate.

Matron Batana took out her family’s insignia and softly recited a spell. Due to the intense silence, the originally low murmuring became clearly audible. The Drow woman closed her eyes and began to summon the teleportation gate.

But when her incantation was completed, the teleportation gate did not appear.

So Matron Batana recited the incantation again. This time, her voice was loud, and each syllable was charged with power, echoing like thunder in the vast cave.

Still, the teleportation gate did not appear.

Batana glanced at the team and saw the mage Lynch, "Adviser Mage! You try using the teleportation spell."

Lynch stepped forward to the matron, nodding in respect, "Honored Matron, I have not prepared that spell."

"Hmph! Don’t give me that; which mage isn’t prepared with a teleportation spell? Isn’t fleeing at the first sign of trouble your style?" Batana shot the mage a derisive look and produced a scroll, "Here, this is a Dark Elf teleportation spell scroll, you’re a mage, you use it."

Lynch took the scroll but was somewhat at a loss. He opened it for a glance and indeed saw it was a standard teleportation magic, but this magic was clearly derived from the Magic Network. If Lynch were to use it, it would certainly cause an explosion, with only a slim chance of activating the teleportation magic array. Even if the spell worked, it would be very unstable.

But given the circumstances, Lynch had no choice but to grit his teeth and proceed. He tightly held the scroll in his hand, cautiously reciting the words on it, carefully controlling the magic energy conjured by the spell, concentrating intensely so as not to make a single mistake.

The two forces clashed, yet under Lynch’s formidable will, they managed to coexist temporarily. The mage was drenched in sweat, but his voice did not waver, nor did his casting gestures err. Lynch instinctively felt that the spell would surely succeed!

But nothing happened—except that the repressed energy eventually resulted in a small explosion, igniting a bright flash in the dark cave that flickered out like a shooting star streaking across the sky. The surroundings resumed their quiet darkness.

Lynch looked at the scroll in his hand; the characters had vanished following the magic use, turning into a blank piece of parchment. He was somewhat puzzled about what went wrong with the teleportation spell.

"Honored Matron, the teleportation failed." Now he had no choice but to admit it honestly.

The matron furrowed her brows, beginning to contemplate the gravity of the situation. Firstly, the family’s secret teleportation gate had lost its function, and now the mage’s teleportation spell had no effect. Moreover, from Lynch’s expression and actions earlier, it seemed he neither shirked responsibility nor played any tricks; the mage had tried his best. ’Of course,’ the matron mused, ’it’s still possible that he is a master performer.’