Brando glanced at the steep, knife-cut cliff in the distance, then turned back and had Roman put on the Web Ring. He had discovered that the merchant heiress's Perception was unexpectedly keen, and this ring was just what she needed to further enhance that ability.
Roman had coveted the beautiful black-and-white ring for quite some time, so she was naturally delighted. Still, she asked curiously, "Is this a magic ring too, Brando?"
"Yes. It lets you hear more clearly. Keep an ear out for anything underground, and alert Freya if you notice anything. I'll be back soon." Brando knew that besides the Golden Demon Tree, there was also a Stone Cone Worm in this valley. That thing had also come from the Earth Element Plane. In the game, it was a rare elite monster that had once appeared without warning and nearly left him scrambling.
"Are there other enemies?" the two girls asked together.
"Possibly. Better safe than sorry, right?" Brando was embarrassed to pretend he was a prophet. More importantly, it would be hard to explain later, so he could only answer vaguely.
Freya nodded in understanding. She gripped her sheathed sword with both hands and guarded Roman from the front. "I'll protect Roman. Please hurry back."
"Hmm?" Brando looked at her in surprise. Since when had this girl become so cooperative? He actually felt a little at a loss. Yet she didn't look like she was plotting anything. After hesitating, he set down his pack and pulled out a coil of rope and some hooks. He glanced at the two girls once more before carefully climbing out.
"Freya, is it really all right for Brando to go out alone?" Roman asked softly.
"Brando has his own plans. We can't help much, so all we can do is make sure he doesn't have to worry about things here."
"Freya?"
Freya shook her long ponytail behind her head, and a serious expression appeared in her bright eyes. She wasn't admitting defeat; her strength could simply accomplish no more than this. The future Valkyrie seriously considered that her power might still be insufficient. If she wanted to become a captain, she had to demand even more of herself.
She exhaled, gripped her sword tightly against her chest, and made up her mind.
Meanwhile, Brando carried the rope along the steep cliff. He should still have several dozen meters to go before reaching the crack in the stone wall he remembered. He couldn't help inhaling and glancing behind him. Fortunately, the Golden Demon Tree, its demon servants, and its offspring relied on sound and fluctuations of magic rather than sight to detect targets. Otherwise, he would have been conspicuous in this position.
He grabbed a protruding rock, and sand and gravel trickled down through the cracks between the stones. That little noise was nothing, but he was worried about causing a major disturbance, so he tried to move as quietly as possible.
Less than thirty meters left. Almost there.
No more Soul Crystals had dropped along the way, but Brando knew he still had one last chance. There was a treasure in the crack ahead—or calling it a treasure wasn't quite accurate. Although players called every secret location that provided items, resources, or rewards a treasure, he knew that the things there were actually relics.
According to the game's storyline, around ten years ago, a young nobleman named Borg Neson who loved adventure had come to this canyon. He and his companions had been separated during an attack by the Treants. He had luckily escaped and hidden here, but ultimately died when his severe injuries caught up with him.
He had left behind his personal wealth and a token. With that token, one could complete a quest in Brags. Although the reward was meager, it had still been better than nothing for Brando back then.
The wealth left behind by that young nobleman was quite interesting, however, because it was randomly generated. If one was lucky, anything could come out of it. Brando's best haul had once included an Amber Raw Stone. Of course, he wasn't counting on that this time. As long as he could get a Soul Crystal, he would be satisfied, because he remembered that the chance of obtaining one here was fairly high.
He quickly crawled into the crack. The rocky fissure was actually quite shallow, but it was difficult to spot from outside. As soon as he felt his way in, he saw the unfortunate nobleman's Bone Frame slumped to one side. Astonishingly, every detail was exactly the same as in the game, and for a moment he nearly felt as though he were still in that world of the past.
Brando soon calmed down. He carefully went around the skeleton, his gaze falling on a small pouch beside it. Then he paused slightly, because he saw a dry, brittle piece of parchment covered in dust lying lightly atop the cloth bag.
There had been no such thing in the game.
He gently picked up the parchment and discovered that it was a will. It contained only a few brief paragraphs:
"Above is Martha, I may not have long to live. If I should die, and someone is fortunate enough to find this will, I hereby legally gift all my personal belongings to that person. In addition, I have a secret ancestral estate. I am willing to divide this wealth into three portions: one for this person, one to be given to my wife, Saidi, and one to be left to my daughter (the words that follow are blurred)...
"If the person who finds this will is interested in this wealth, please deliver this will and my token to my wife, and tell her 'the date at the Baden Ball.' She will understand what I mean.
"Finally, I am sorry, Saidi. May Lady Martha punish me—"
After reading it, Brando couldn't help but freeze. He became even more certain that he had never seen this before. Previously, this quest line had merely required removing the Seal Ring from the nobleman's finger and delivering it to the citizens' registry office in Brags to receive a reward. The quest line ended there, with no follow-up.
But why was this happening? Was it because this place differed from the game? Brando shook his head. Instinctively, he was unwilling to believe that conclusion. At least, every detail he had discovered before had matched perfectly, hadn't it? There was no reason for an exception to appear here. Then what was the reason?
He thought about it, then suddenly wondered whether only the first person to discover it could receive such a quest. The Amber Sword had many unique quests and first-time quests, but could the same thing happen in an instance? No one had ever mentioned it.
After hesitating for a long while, he carefully folded the will together with the Seal Ring and put them close to his body. The quest seemed vaguely familiar to him; perhaps someone really had completed it back then. Unfortunately, the part of the will concerning his daughter's name and address had become too blurred. Otherwise, the quest would have been simple and clear.
Brando didn't mind that, however. The more troublesome the quest, the richer the reward would be. At worst, he could start with the citizens' registry office in Brags. At least he knew two clues: the nobleman's name and his wife's name. Besides, that was a matter for later. Right now, he still had to deal with his own predicament.
After putting away the will, he began examining his spoils. The cloth pouch contained two rubies, some coins worth approximately thirty silver coins—which was quite a substantial sum—along with a tobacco pipe, a dark-gray Stone Fragment, and a glass bead. Brando poured out the contents and searched carefully again, only to find disappointedly that there was no Soul Crystal. He couldn't help sighing.
In the game, this haul would have been quite good. But now he needed neither materials nor money. He needed an item that could immediately increase his strength. Still, disappointment was disappointment. Brando swept everything into his pouch. He had no time to check which things were useful and which were merely decorations or junk. He would deal with that after getting to safety.
After gathering up his spoils, Brando glanced at the skeleton once more and returned the way he had come. Everything went smoothly. When he returned to the rocky crevice where Roman and Freya were waiting, he clearly saw both girls breathe a sigh of relief.
"Brando, you're finally back. Roman and I were so worried while you were gone. There wasn't a sound anywhere, and it was so quiet." Roman patted her little chest and exhaled.
"Don't drag me into this..." Freya flushed slightly.
"I only went to check the surroundings. There's just one patrol outside. We need to take them out as quickly as possible."
"Are we going out?"
"We don't have to. We could wait until later and leave through the exit on the other side of the mountain road. That would let us avoid a fight, but we might be pressed for time." Brando answered.
"How pressed for time?" Freya asked.
"About two hours later."
The girl paused. "How far is it from here to Ridenburg?" The farthest she had ever traveled from home was probably Webin. She had often heard adults mention Ridenburg, but it had remained little more than an impression.
"To put it this way: if we're two hours late, we'll have to race Madara's Undead Army to Ridenburg." Brando looked at Roman. "We might arrive in Ridenburg first, but we won't have much time left."
"Would it be faster if we went out and killed that tree?" she asked.
"There's a secret passage behind it, dug out by merchants to avoid the checkpoints. I read about it in Brags's municipal records, back when I was still in the Brags Militia..." Their protagonist lied without the slightest change in expression. He hadn't actually lied about the secret passage, either—he had simply learned about it in the game.
Freya looked at him suspiciously.
"Is that tree dangerous?" She pointed outside.
"Extremely dangerous. We have a fifty percent chance of failing." Brando answered solemnly. Although he really wanted to gamble on killing the Golden Demon Tree, he also told himself that he had to honestly tell Freya and the others how great a risk they would be taking. He was responsible for the lives of three people.
In a team, everyone had the right to choose what to do with their own life. That was the basic rule of The Amber Sword. No one could force anyone else.
Freya fell silent.
"What about you, Roman?" she asked.
Roman shook her head. "I like adventures. Life is meant to be used for something meaningful."
Only then did Freya withdraw her gaze. She nodded. "I understand, Brando. Please take us to defeat it. If we fail, I won't regret it."
Brando smiled. He hadn't expected such a strong reaction from Freya. "It's not that serious. I'll tell you how to deal with it. But first, we'll take out that patrol. Six Treants—you're already very familiar with them. This time, however, we'll end the battle in an instant."
Then he brought the two girls to the edge of the rocky crevice. Looking out, they could clearly see the offspring of the Golden Demon Tree patrol. Brando gestured to indicate an area. "We'll sneak over from here. When you see my signal, launch a surprise attack. Before the battle begins, move as slowly and quietly as possible. We absolutely cannot let them detect our sounds."
"We have at least half an hour, so there's no need to hurry."
"Freya."
"Yes."
"Roman and I will attack from the right. Hide beneath that rock on the left. When we begin our attack, strike the last two. Do you still remember their weakness?" Brando had placed Roman and himself on one side partly to protect Freya and partly to ease her pressure. After all, the merchant heiress had no combat ability to speak of.
Freya nodded. The Treants' weakness lay in their limbs, because all their sensory organs were located there. Once they lost their limbs, they posed no threat at all. Still, she began to feel somewhat nervous. Before, they had dealt with Treants through unexpected schemes, such as rockfall traps. This time, they would confront them head-on and end the battle in an instant. She wasn't worried about whether Brando could do it.
But could she do it? Freya wasn't sure.
Brando glanced at her and understood what she was thinking. Every beginner had problems of one sort or another. Although Freya should technically count as an "NPC," she probably wasn't exempt. After thinking for a moment, he encouraged her, "Don't worry too much. Your Empress of Wind Half-Plate counters them very effectively. You should attack without holding back—"
Freya nodded.
(PS. I overslept, so I'm a little late. Sorry. Please favorite and recommend, everyone. Please support me!)
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