Heroic Deck

"Summon Sacred Sword?" Vonder had many swords bearing the name Sacred Sword, such as the Crown of Wind, Nodasis, the Sword of the Endless Sky, and the Sacred Sword of the Mountains, "Extremity." There was also the only Sacred Sword players had ever obtained back then—Amber. But as far as Brando was concerned, those legendary names had nothing to do with him.

Was this a spell? He did know that priests possessed a low-level Light Element spell called Sacred Sword Technique, but that spell consisted entirely of purely offensive incantations. It clearly had nothing to do with summoning or calling. In the game, words imbued with magic were extremely serious matters. They could not be changed or combined at will.

But setting aside what this Summon Sacred Sword actually was, Brando knew that none of the spells available to players in the game had particularly serious side effects. The worst consequence was simply excessive expenditure of spiritual power. It would not cause splitting headaches; at most, one would feel mentally fatigued.

With that in mind, he steadied himself and mentally issued the command to agree to summoning the Sacred Sword. After all, everyone would make a profit-free-risk deal. Besides, he had also been hoping to try treating a dead horse as though it were still alive.

Brando slowed slightly, and the Treant on the other side had already controlled two snake-like vines to lash toward him. But he immediately ducked and swept his Elven Treasure Sword upward. A silver arc flashed, and the two foul-smelling vines flew into the air and turned to ash.

Then, without slowing his assault, our protagonist braced one hand against the ground, accelerating into the Treant's close range instead. However, just as he was about to launch his next move, the dim light screen projected onto his retina suddenly changed:

"Warrior's Path, unlocked."

"Heroic Deck, Chapter II: Knight—Sacred Sword."

"Since this is the first time the character has opened the Fate Deck, the guide system is loading."

Rows of ghostly text appeared, then vanished just as quickly.

"Sacred Sword, the sword symbolizing a knight's devotion and purity—"

"Effect: Pay 6 points of Earth Element from the Elemental Pool to summon the Sacred Sword onto the field. Summoning conditions fulfilled. Please have the character display the card, press their thumb against the center of the Sacred Fate Mark, and ignite the Sacred Sword with the magic triangle formed by the index finger and thumb—"

Brando immediately discovered that this jumble of nonsense had interfered with him so badly that he could barely attack. His hands paused for an instant, and the vines the Treant pulled back forced him away. He cursed under his breath, but he also knew that even without the interference, his chances had been slim. He could not help gasping for breath, then glanced back toward Freya. The girl was struggling her way beneath the huge boulder. She was already close, but the light-brown ponytail bouncing up and down behind her made Brando freeze for a moment.

Without making it obvious, he shifted his attention in another direction. The other Treant seedlings below were still a step too slow. It seemed the future Valkyrie would have no problem. Roman's situation, however, was not optimistic. She could no longer climb at all and was panting heavily below.

Brando had already exchanged a blow with the Treant. Neither side had gained much, but the offspring of the Golden Demon Tree had realized that the human before it was not as powerful as it had imagined. He merely feared the Elven Treasure Sword in Brando's hand.

Brando understood that as well.

He tightened his grip on the sword once more. Just then, the final prompt flashed across his retina: "Display card?" Brando froze, but as an old player, he immediately thought of the card in his clothing. As if struck by sudden inspiration, he quickly pulled it out.

So this Sacred Mark was called the Sacred Fate Mark. But why had he never heard of it before? Brando could not help feeling slightly puzzled, but regardless of his doubts, he had already pressed his thumb onto it.

"Heroic Deck, Chapter II: Knight—Sacred Sword. Lock successful."

A blinding black light shot out.

The penetrating magical fluctuation stabbed into the minds of every living creature nearby like a sharp sword. It made even the adult Treant howl, and under the influence of that unsettling pulse, Freya and Roman both stopped as well. One turned around, while the other looked up, both directing their gazes toward Brando.

They saw the card Brando held aloft vanish after a ripple of black radiance.

"Brando, y-your card disappeared!" the Merchant's Daughter cried out nervously. Her eyesight was truly excellent; the distance from where she stood to Brando was at least fifty meters.

But Brando did not hear a word the future Merchant's Daughter said. He could only stare blankly at the new information appearing on the light screen across his retina:

"Sacred Sword, the sword symbolizing a knight's devotion and purity—"

"When it is present on the field, you may pay 1 point of Earth Element to attack an enemy, or pay 1 point of Earth Element to dispel disease, poison curses, and dark effects."

"For every ten minutes the Sacred Sword exists, the character must supply 2 points of Earth Element and 2 points of spiritual power to maintain it."

"The Sacred Sword's area of effect is one thousand meters."

Huh?

What kind of vicious sorcery was this? Brando had never heard of a magical item that required players to continually pay power to use it. The spiritual power needed no explanation; it was related only to Willpower capacity. He did recognize the Elemental Pool, though. As far as he knew, only a handful of classes—including the Elemental Envoy, Magic Swordsman, and Sun Knight—possessed one, because they needed to draw upon elemental power to cast spells.

But no magical item had ever required the player's Elemental Pool. Did that mean players without an Elemental Pool could not use it?

More importantly, the consumption was continuous. This meant that if he wanted to draw on the card's power the way he had just used the Soul Crystal to charge it, he had to make sure he had enough Soul Crystals.

But having enough Soul Crystals was easier said than done. It was not as though every monster was guaranteed to drop one.

Of course, although the doubt had flashed through his mind, the magical item's strength was undeniable. It truly was an item above the 40 Oz power tier; its effects were not diminished in the slightest.

Brando drew his hand downward from above—

A sword made of light suddenly appeared behind him. It stood two people tall and was one person wide, with a glittering golden cross as its guard. A pair of wings spread from either side of the guard, making it look from a distance as though Brando had grown a pair of snow-white wings from his back.

The Merchant's Daughter stared blankly from below, taking in the entire scene. Her eyes immediately filled with worshipful excitement. Brando is so handsome!

Freya was also stunned, but she at least remembered her mission. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed the rock and continued climbing higher. The cut on her hand from the previous night seemed to have split open again, and the stinging pain made her frown.

Brando, meanwhile, checked his condition. The moment the Sacred Sword appeared, it cleared both negative effects from his body. Corpse Poison and Paralysis Toxin vanished like melting snow, and every movement of his hands and feet let him feel the sacred light filling his body.

40 Oz—the second level of power. This was at least the standard of a quasi-priest. In other words, after entering the Sacred Sword state, Brando's dispelling ability was already no different from that of a true priest. Ignoring his clothing and background, anyone sensing his aura now would believe Brando was a quasi-priest.

It was strange. The card had been summoned with Earth Element, yet it could imitate the power of Light Element so realistically. He could not help wondering what sort of extraordinary person had created this card.

But Brando did not know that beneath his suddenly intensified aura, the Treant before him was already growing restless. The adult offspring of the Golden Demon Tree was only level 22, while the power of 40 Oz was close to level 30. Under such overwhelming pressure, an unintelligent creature found it difficult to control its panic.

It let out a shriek and finally launched its attack. The vine-wrapped monster suddenly swelled, and every vine on its body flew toward Brando like a spear.

"Brando, watch out!" the Merchant's Daughter warned from below.

Brando frowned.

Without an Elemental Pool, he had no idea how much Earth Element he could draw upon. Generally speaking, Soul Crystals converted into elemental-pool energy at a one-to-one ratio. Based on the remaining energy, the card should originally have contained 20 points of Earth Element. Summoning the Sacred Sword had consumed 6 points, so 14 should remain—

That was still fairly generous. He swept his right hand forward and paid 1 point of Earth Element to use the Sacred Sword's Attack skill. A golden blade-light shot from between his five fingers—

Every vine touched by the light burst into flames and burned into ash.

This was the Sacred Sword Technique. Brando recognized it immediately. It was a low-level priestly offensive spell, but after its power tier was raised, its attack power was equally terrifying.

The Treant howled and retreated. Brando's single strike had swept away nearly a third of its vines. The Treant relied on the Golden Demon Tree for its magical nourishment, and it would take many years for those vines to grow back.

But our protagonist gave it no such opportunity. He attacked with both hands, driving three consecutive golden swords through the adult Treant's body before chopping down with a hand blade. With a tremendous boom, the offspring of the Golden Demon Tree exploded from its center and became a pile of ash.

At the same time, Freya activated the Wind Queen Ring. Her aim was slightly off, but the power of the Wind Bullet still sent the huge boulder flying. Amid a rumbling crash, the mountain-sized rock rolled downhill, crushing everything in its path—sharp stones and Treants alike—into dust.

More than a dozen Treants died in an instant. Even the Golden Demon Tree could not bear such a loss. It let out a terrifying wail, its shriek nearly piercing the entire Xavier Valley.

Brando had heard that cry at least eight hundred times, if not a thousand, in the game and had long since grown used to it. Hearing it now even stirred a trace of nostalgia. Freya and Roman, however, were startled and exchanged glances.

"W-what was that, Brando?" the Ponytail Girl asked from the mountaintop, looking down.

"Don't worry. We won't have to deal with it." After finally finishing the battle, Brando also breathed a sigh of relief. With this patrol dealt with, things would be much easier. He estimated the time: the Sacred Sword could remain on the field for another hour and a half, which would not be enough for them to leave the valley. If he dismissed it now, he might even be able to summon it once more.

With that thought, he decisively withdrew the card. At that moment, the Merchant's Daughter also climbed up from below, panting for breath. The moment she arrived, she asked, "Brando, that just now—what was it?"

"That was the power of that card. I didn't expect it to be a magical item as well." Seeing the little stars filling Roman's eyes, he answered ambiguously.

"A magical item?" Freya was secretly startled by his answer. The ring Brando had given her was one, and the Empress of Wind Half-Plate was another. But how could an ordinary person know so much about magic? To her, magic was as mysterious as the legends that existed only in stories.

She could not help taking a careful look at the young man below, as though trying to see through his true identity.

He had claimed to be a militiaman from Brags, but Freya increasingly felt that it was merely an evasive answer. What she did not know was that, in the world beyond her sight, an even more magnificent scene was unfolding:

Brando raised his head and saw golden light flying toward him from across the mountains—

Killing monsters above one's level really was a wonderful thing.