A Safe Haven

"Empress of Wind Half-Plate!?"

Brando opened the heavy pack and took a look inside. When he saw the complete bronze armor resting within, he could not help but rub his forehead. No wonder, no wonder the adult Withered Beast had only been able to restrain Freya before. So this was what had protected her.

"Why didn't you put it on?"

"That armor glows, and I was afraid Madara's undead would see me. I was planning to wait until daytime, when the light was brighter..."

"Light?"

"The layer of cyan light surrounding the armor plates."

"That's Feather of Wind, not light." Seeing Freya stare at him in confusion, Brando could not help letting out a long sigh. These were the most basic facts in the game, but he had never expected Freya to know absolutely nothing about them. He had no choice but to pick up the armor and explain everything to her one point at a time.

The Empress of Wind Half-Plate was a work of Saint Orso's master smith. Like his Wind Queen Ring, it bore the Saint Rune of the Wind Empress. However, there were many different types of Saint Runes of the Wind Empress. For example, the Wind Queen Ring was Dilute's token, and the rune on it was Saint Orso's coat of arms. The one in Brando's hands, however, was merely a counterfeit, and thus an extremely low-grade item—it might even have been the clumsy work of some human wizard.

Of course, no matter how crude it was, 20 Oz of magical equipment was not something Brando's grandfather should have possessed. His own memories offered no help with this mystery, so he could only set it aside for now. Thinking in terms of the game, however, this might be a hidden questline. But he would have to wait until he met The Cripple from Black Pepper Alley before he could find any clues.

On the other hand, the genuine Saint Rune of the Wind Empress from Saint Orso had certainly been made by elves. The Empress of Wind Half-Plate was military equipment for the elven guard, so its bloodline was naturally pure. However, ever since the Year of the Return of Radiance, several hundred sets had flowed into other countries every year, so they were not considered especially valuable.

To put it in Brando's terms, in the game it was merely a 15-Oz Strength-level piece of equipment.

Feather of Wind was the Saint Rune of the Wind Empress imbued into the Empress of Wind Half-Plate. It was actually a spell whose effect was to lessen the force passing through it. In other words, it reduced damage. As was typical of elven magic, this spell was particularly sensitive to plants, so it was perfectly normal for the Withered Beast to have been restrained so thoroughly.

What Freya did not know was that Feather of Wind was called a beneficial status effect in the game. Its light could only be seen by enemies at the instant it took effect.

Listening to Brando's explanation, Freya looked embarrassed. It was so humiliating. She looked just like a country girl who had never seen the world. Her head sank lower and lower, and she finally complained in a small voice, "Why didn't you tell me earlier—"

How was I supposed to know, my lady? Brando naturally treated some things as common knowledge, and he realized that this might cause some misunderstandings. But after immersing himself in The Amber Sword for so long, it was only natural that he could not immediately adjust himself away from his identity as a player.

Seeing Freya's face turn bright red as she hugged the pack tightly, he realized that he did not even need to ask why she had refused to throw it away back then. So even the future Valkyrie had a maiden's heart. He did not point it out directly, but being trusted by someone still felt quite good.

Brando's heart softened despite himself, and he naturally could not bring himself to say anything reproachful—

"Things are dead, but people are alive. No matter how precious something is, if you encounter a situation like that again, you must make sure you're safe first. Understood?" he said.

"I'm sorry."

"What about the Third Squad?"

"I entrusted command to Little Finis."

"Little Finis?"

"Mm. Uncle Maden once told me that this child might be Buchi's most promising person to leave the village. I used to take good care of him, hoping that one day he could win some glory for our village. But I suppose you were right. How could a man grow without hardships?"

"You've come around? Does Essen agree?" Brando sighed. Freya had finally stepped out of her own world. He had thought that the girl was still clinging to her innocence and naivety, but when he saw the calm and bright look in her eyes, he understood that she had actually grown.

"Essen thinks the same way I do."

Brando nodded.

After resolving the problems within the squad, he breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it was nothing serious. Freya was somewhat stubborn and easily embarrassed, but she was still a dependable companion when it mattered. Especially since she had refused to abandon that pack at the most critical moment. Although it had infuriated Brando, it had also warmed his heart—at least this friendship carried weight.

He could not help turning his head, only to discover Roman studying the sheltered cave across the campfire with sparkling eyes. From her expression, she seemed to be inspecting some rare treasure.

The Merchant's Daughter seemed incapable of ever worrying about the environment she was in.

"Brando, how did you know about this place? Since it's here, those terrifying monsters outside shouldn't be able to find us, right?" she asked.

Freya nodded. "But we can't hide here forever. Once it gets a little brighter, we should set out."

Brando nodded as well. They were both right. There were several such hidden locations on Xavier Mountain Pass, all on one side of the cliffs. Back then, countless Nightingales and hunters had paid with their lives to discover this relatively convenient path, allowing them to calmly avoid most of the Golden Demon Tree's minions in the valleys and approach the place closest to the boss.

But there were two difficulties. First, they had to travel along the cliffs to reach the core area of Xavier Mountain Pass, where the Golden Demon Tree had taken root—the so-called Forbidden Orchard. Several gaps along the way required grappling hooks. Moreover, the Golden Demon Tree was no fool. Several Treant patrols were stationed on the cliffs. Brando, however, had his own way of dealing with them.

The second difficulty was that secretly leaving through the hidden passage behind the Forbidden Orchard required Griffinto's crystal key. But that thing hung from a branch of the Golden Tree. In the past, they had simply killed the boss, taken the key, and left. This time, Brando had no choice but to find another route.

He had already gone over the general steps in his mind. The rest would depend on his ability to adapt. After all, not everyone could plan everything perfectly. In the game, their plans were usually only outlines. Those tightly linked plans that existed only in novels did not exist in reality.

At times like this, the trump cards in his hand became especially important. That was why Brando valued the Wind Queen Ring so highly.

Thinking of this, he could not help taking out the Soul Crystal and examining it in the firelight. The dark Soul Crystal looked like obsidian, but wizards could distinguish between the two by infusing them with power. Even ordinary people could tell the difference if they were familiar enough with the materials.

But Brando knew a simple method of testing it. He brought the crystal close to the campfire and saw signs of vaporization appear on the dark crystalline body. He immediately confirmed that it was indeed a Soul Crystal.

That was because unprotected soul power was extremely unstable before an open flame. This also explained why Madara's low-level undead were so afraid of fire.

"What's that?" the Merchant's Daughter asked curiously.

Brando placed the crystal against the Wind Queen Ring. The crystal dimmed slightly, then became somewhat more transparent. After thinking for a moment, he infused only 10 Oz of power. That was enough; any more would be wasteful.

However, he suddenly remembered his ebony gargoyle statue. The power contained in the Soul Crystal was the best medium for repairing that talisman. But after placing the crystal against it and hesitating for a while, he ultimately gave up. The gargoyle talisman had more than three hundred possible control spells. He had spent half the night testing them yesterday without guessing correctly even once, and he had no time to continue experimenting now. Besides, the remaining 20 points of experience were only a drop in the bucket. Putting them into it would be a waste.

Brando thought for a moment. Fully repairing the thing would require at least 100 points of experience.

What else could he do with it? Should he save it for some other use? But for Brando now, experience that was spent was useful experience. He was still too weak and urgently needed to become stronger. Only by surviving could he change things.

Should he use it on himself? Or use it as skill experience? Saving it for himself would not be enough to reach the next level. As for using it as skill experience, setting aside how ugly the ten-to-one exchange rate was, he had no skills he could cultivate while serving as a mercenary.

He could not exactly keep raising his Militia level, could he? He would have to wait until he had ample experience for that.

Brando suddenly found himself in a dilemma. He could not help glancing at the sky outside. After dawn, the darkness soon began to fade, and they would be setting out shortly. The Golden Demon Tree's minions were blind. They merely instinctively sought out light and were sensitive to sound and fluctuations of magical power. Thus, traveling by day was not much different from traveling by night. Compared with humans, however, daytime was more convenient.

At least they would not need torches. Firelight was far too noticeable to the Withered Beasts.

His hand continued groping through his pocket, searching for anything useful, but it soon touched something shaped like a playing card. Brando's heart stirred, and he instinctively took it out. He did not know what it was, but that did not stop him from experimenting.

The best way to identify an item was naturally to have a complete set of reference materials and alchemical tools. Players who lacked such professional resources could simply find an NPC. Even in the game, however, identification fees were a considerable expense. One characteristic of The Amber Sword was that you could still use an item even if you did not know its attributes, as long as you understood how to use it.

Thus, many players had developed their own methods for identifying equipment, and Brando was no exception.

He tested several commonly used spells, but unfortunately, there was no reaction. After thinking for a moment, he instinctively touched the Soul Crystal to the stiff paper, wanting to see whether anything would happen. Generally speaking, magical items would resonate with soul power. If they were damaged or could be charged, they would even produce a reaction of a higher level.

But Brando had not expected that the moment the two came into contact, the paper suddenly emitted a powerful light. The Soul Crystal in his hand instantly lost its color and became a transparent crystal prism.

An absorption reaction!

Brando nearly jumped in shock. He stared at the transparent crystal prism in his hand, speechless. A Soul Crystal that had lost its soul power was called a container. Wizards and Elemental Envoys would purchase such containers at high prices to create spell-storage items.

Something similar to a scroll—or rather, precisely a scroll from this world.

But that was not what Brando cared about. He only felt an icy chill rising from his back. An absorption reaction was one of the few kinds of magical fluctuations with the strongest external manifestations. This time, things had gone terribly wrong. The Golden Demon Tree could probably sense the magical ripples spreading through the air even from ten miles away...

It might not even be limited to the Golden Demon Tree. With such a powerful reaction, heaven knew whether some strange creature nearby would set its sights on him.

What Brando could not understand was how such a low-level magical item could produce an absorption reaction. That was a privilege reserved for magical items worth at least 40 Oz.

Regardless of Roman and Freya staring at him in astonishment—they had of course seen that dazzling black light—Brando made his decision at once. He stood up and said, "Let's go. We're leaving—"

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