Beneath the clear sky shone the brightest sunlight since the beginning of spring.
Along the banks of the Brags River, this was how the scenery should have looked in April and May. Green meadows stretched all the way to the riverbank, while lush trees filled the forest. At the bend of the golden river, one could vaguely make out a waterwheel or sawmill.
The river flowed clear and pure, passing over the cobbles on both banks before carrying the wind from the Yusong Mountains downstream toward the Viero Region. But to the native locals, it was as though an endless poem flowed through the river, containing the wisdom of the ages.
That was what Brando believed as he walked along the riverbank, listening to the sounds of the forest. There were bears in the forest, but they were not easy to spot. In one of his memories, this was where his grandfather had loved bringing him. But in another, this area was the Beginner Zone he knew better than anywhere. The forest was filled with small animals of various levels, while the bear was the local boss, dropping a piece of fine-quality leather.
The two memories merged and intertwined in his mind.
The third memory was about the Golden Demon Tree—
Looking at the familiar scenery, his thoughts inevitably returned to a few minutes earlier:
"Freya, Roman. I'll keep this brief. You should have realized by now that the true ability of the Golden Demon Tree lies in the power of the mind—it can control so many demon servants and offspring through mental manipulation."
"The power of the mind?"
"Roman, don't interrupt."
"Sorry, Freya."
"Yes, the power of the mind. Peering into thoughts, remotely controlling minds, creating mysterious and unpredictable illusions, imprisoning souls." Brando replied, "In fact, when we fought the Treants, the Golden Demon Tree had already begun influencing our thoughts. It has been dreaming a long, drawn-out dream, and that dream will soon merge with yours and mine."
"A dream?"
"Mm. Soon, we'll each enter our own dreams. You'll see some unbelievable things there, but before that, there are a few key points I have to tell you..."
Brando pointed toward the center of the valley. There, the Golden Demon Tree seemed increasingly beautiful in their eyes. Its branches appeared to stretch out in every direction, radiating vigorous life—this was the manifestation of the Golden Tree's dream extending into the real world.
In the game, the Tree Shepherds had awakened the Golden Tree by giving it God's Blood, but they had also caused these elven sacred trees to fall into eternal dreams. Those dreams were fragments and scattered words concerning a Dark World. Even a mortal who merely caught a glimpse of one would descend into madness.
Even a single fragment of one of these dreams was deadly to players. Once they became involved, they could lose their lives at any moment. Yet to fight the Golden Demon Tree, they had no choice but to enter its dream.
This would be the first stage of the battle against the Golden Demon Tree: the illusion. In the game, players had always considered this stage the most difficult. However, the guild called Mutian had solved the problem with a clever method.
That method had once been a little-known secret, but Brando came from the era when it had already spread widely among players.
And by an incredible coincidence, he happened to have enough resources on hand to complete the plan.
But that still wasn't enough—
Because once the first stage ended, victory in the second stage, which would take place in reality, would depend on true strength. This stage was relatively easy in the game, but for Brando and the others as they originally were, it was actually somewhat difficult to complete.
The reason was simple. Most players entered this dungeon at an average level of twenty-five or higher, whereas Brando, the highest-level member of the three, was only level ten. Even with the help of top-grade equipment, it would be difficult to finish the battle before the Withered Beasts arrived fifteen minutes later.
That was why, as soon as Brando obtained the Fate Card: Holy Sword, he immediately began plotting against the Golden Demon Tree. As long as he used the Fate Card properly, it seemed that all the conditions for killing the Golden Demon Tree would be in place.
"Key points?" Freya's voice pulled him back to reality.
Brando froze for a moment, then nodded. "Because it's the Golden Demon Tree's dream entering our dreams, you must remember that you are the masters of your own dreams. So no matter how it constructs the dream or how ferocious the beasts it creates are, they will never exceed your limits—"
He remembered that in the game, the Golden Demon Tree would release some of the strongest monsters players had previously encountered alone and recreate those scenes within the dream. But it was not that simple—in this area, players would receive a negative-emotion value. Whenever they made a mistake or suffered more injuries, that value would increase, and the monsters would grow stronger as well.
Thus, the battle often descended into a vicious cycle. The monsters grew stronger while the players grew weaker, until the players could no longer resist and the battle ended.
Brando did not know how this negative-emotion value would manifest in reality, but there was only one core principle: they had to remain confident in themselves and do their best to maintain peak combat readiness. Only then could they win.
He pointed at his forehead and looked seriously at Roman and Freya. "Focus your attention and keep your fighting spirit high. A person's Willpower Attribute—"
"Willpower Attribute?"
"Don't interrupt, Roman!" Brando replied irritably. "I mean willpower. A person's willpower isn't fixed. It rises and falls according to your condition. Concentrating and maintaining high morale will keep your willpower at its peak. The stronger your willpower, the harder it will be for the Golden Demon Tree to stir up your negative emotions. Whatever you do, don't let those emotions control you, or the consequences will be severe."
"How severe?" The future Merchant's Daughter looked at him with her bright, wide eyes.
Brando did not answer. He was afraid his words would make them too nervous, and nervousness was also a negative emotion. Failure meant that their souls would be imprisoned forever within the tree trunk by the Golden Demon Tree, until the Golden Tree was reduced to ashes by flames. But liberation would mean death as well.
The surroundings had gradually grown hazy.
But Brando still had one rule left to explain. During this battle, there was a rule stating that once the first person awakened, they could enter the next person's dream and pass a conviction to their companion, allowing the other to defeat the nightmare more easily.
However, each member of the team had only one such opportunity. Thus, guilds would generally arrange an awakening chain. The strongest person entered the dream first, followed by the second strongest, then the third. That way, when the guild's strongest member awakened first, they could immediately help the people below them. This order ensured that the team's casualties during the first stage would not become too severe.
Now Brando intended to change that order.
"I'll enter the dream first," he said. "Then Freya, and Roman last."
"How do we enter the dream?" Freya asked.
"You only need to close your eyes. I'll close mine first, then you, and then Roman—" Brando nearly bit his tongue. He immediately reached out to press Roman's eyelids shut, because he had seen the Merchant's Daughter actually preparing to close her eyes and try it.
"Ah!" Roman let out a soft cry when Brando's hand pressed against her forehead.
"Curiosity killed the cat, miss!"
"I-I'm sorry."
"The world of magic and the mind is dangerous. You must be cautious in everything." Brando sighed. His plan was simple. He was the most confident, so naturally he should enter the dream first. Freya would follow him because he believed that, among the three of them, the future Valkyrie would probably have the most difficulty overcoming herself—the more inner demons she had, the greater the danger.
But with someone as experienced as him assisting from the side, she should not be in too much danger. Roman, by contrast, had a simple mind and should have an easier time escaping the Golden Demon Tree's control. With Freya's help as well, success would naturally follow.
The first stage had a time limit of five minutes, which was extended to half an hour within the dream. If they failed to escape during that time, they would likewise become lost and be imprisoned by the Golden Demon Tree forever.
It seemed like a highly promising plan with a very high chance of success. At least, Brando could not find any flaws in it. If they succeeded, then aside from the considerable rewards, they would also have ample time to operate in Ridenburg. No one among them understood Ridenburg's current situation, or what it would become in the future, better than Brando did. To find Roman's aunt there and retreat successfully, every additional moment meant an additional measure of hope.
He patted the Gleaming Thorn at his waist and inhaled deeply. The Golden Demon Tree's dream was incredibly realistic. When he breathed in, his lungs seemed filled with the scent of damp earth along the riverbank—the smell of March and April, of green grass and forests in the midst of growth.
But what did the Golden Tree boss mean by throwing him here? Did it think that the strongest monster he had ever encountered was that old brown bear in the forest?
That was perfect. It was only a level-sixteen rare elite. His current self could deal with it easily.
However, in Brando's memories, the Golden Demon Tree was not so kind. On the contrary, these creatures twisted by the so-called God's Blood were the purest of evil beings. Their evil was so absolute that it did not need any reason.
But judging by the time, the event should be about to trigger, right? Although he had been in this world for several days, Brando still instinctively used the phrase "trigger the event." There was no special reason—just habit.
At that moment, he heard the sound of metal striking metal. Brando's ears twitched. For someone like him, who was reasonably familiar with swordsmanship—level-three Military Swordsmanship—he could tell from the sound alone that two people were dueling.
But the exchange was not intense. It seemed to be only practice.
Brando did not choose to avoid them, because he knew that avoiding them in a dream was meaningless. Besides, avoiding danger meant shrinking back, which was a negative emotion. The Golden Demon Tree might make use of it. He followed the sound to its source and discovered that it was coming from behind the sawmill's waterwheel not far away. As he drew closer and his view passed around the enormous vertical waterwheel, he saw two unexpected people—
One was an old man with snow piled at his temples and silver hair covering his head. He wore a dark-blue uniform and held a sword in his hand. Merely standing there, he naturally gave off an imposing presence, as though he were a towering mountain. What made Brando's heart jump, however, was the old man's expression. His solemn face carried an intimidating authority without anger. Anyone with a guilty conscience would probably avert their eyes the moment they saw him.
The other was a little boy holding a wooden sword. He might have looked no different from an ordinary child, but in Brando's eyes, he meant something entirely different.
Brando recognized him at a glance. More precisely, it was young Brando. He was startled and raised his head, immediately realizing who the old man was. That had to be Brando's grandfather, a veteran of the November War and recipient of the Candlelight Medal. Good grief, that was no small matter. Although Eluin was already in decline, the medals of the Temple of Flames were not so easy to obtain—
But this time, the dream constructed by the Golden Demon Tree seemed somewhat different from the one in the game. Brando's heart tightened. Yet in that brief moment of hesitation, he immediately felt the presence of young Brando's grandfather before him grow increasingly solid, and it even began affecting his state of mind.
"Negative emotions!" Brando instantly realized that he had been influenced without knowing it. This was different from the game. The system in the game could not manipulate a person's thoughts, but here, things were completely different.
That made the battle far more difficult than it had been in the game!
Brando could not help taking a deep breath and patted his waist pouch. Fortunately, he still had his greatest trump card. Although the situation was somewhat unexpected, it remained within his control.
With that thought, he calmed himself.
The old man's gaze also settled on him. After examining him for a while, he spoke: "Young man, are you qualified to inherit everything my grandson possesses?"
Those words made Brando's body sway slightly.
(PS: This chapter and the next few will be entering the climax. I poured a lot of emotion into these chapters; I cried while writing them. == I hope everyone will enjoy them.
With tears in my eyes, I beg you to recommend and bookmark this novel.)
Before you continue