Awakening

Awakening from his grandfather's dream, Brando opened his eyes and felt a chill across his forehead. He looked at the hazy sky and couldn't help letting out a long breath. In the game, there were ways to break free from the Cage of Willpower by using equipment and skills that instantly raised Willpower. His Unyielding Talent was one such method.

Yet somehow, he felt that this wasn't the best way to solve the problem.

In any case, having fused with Brando's memories, he couldn't sever himself from the other half of his soul. He wasn't simply one or the other, but the unified whole represented by Su Fei and Brando. If he couldn't face Brando's weakness, then one day he wouldn't be able to face his own.

Only by recognizing himself correctly could he fully accept the past.

This growth was more than merely spiritual--

Brando's simple acceptance of his past self had already brought him tremendous gains. He had never expected Brando's swordsmanship to have been personally trained by his grandfather. Those memories had been sealed away in Brando's subconscious under a mindset of self-abandonment. Only now had his memories of practicing swordsmanship as a child finally awakened and merged into his soul.

What kind of swordsmanship was it?

Brando had once sealed away the swordsmanship his grandfather had taught him because, subconsciously, he believed himself unworthy of using it. Even so, the swordsmanship talent that had seeped into the young man's bones since childhood had still made him the undisputed best swordsman in Anzek's militia.

Our protagonist couldn't help opening his Attributes panel for a look. It had already become: Militia Military Swordsmanship (Level 3 + 1), Grappling Techniques (Level 3), Tactical Theory (Level 0), Military Organization (Level 0).

Training skills couldn't exceed one's class level, but bonus skill levels obtained through equipment and quests didn't count toward that limit. Level 4 swordsmanship was already the standard of an ordinary person who had practiced swordsmanship for thirty or forty years. It was absolutely inappropriate for an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old to possess it.

But Brando felt that once he fully absorbed the essence of the swordsmanship his grandfather had taught him, there would be no problem with Military Swordsmanship reaching another 30% of the experience needed beyond Level 4. Whenever he recalled that old man's swordsmanship, a chill ran through him. It had to be Eluin Military Swordsmanship at least beyond Level 10. Brando's grandfather truly was a legend.

With his thoughts in turmoil, he sat up from the ground and couldn't help looking toward the center of the valley. The hazy sensation spreading from the Golden Demon Tree had faded somewhat, indicating that the power of the dream was weakening. He turned back to look at Freya and Roman. Freya's eyes were tightly shut, and she occasionally furrowed her brows.

The Merchant's Daughter's face was pale, but her expression was peaceful.

Fortunately, the situation wasn't as bad as he had imagined. Next came the infusion of faith. As long as everything went smoothly, the Golden Demon Tree wouldn't be so difficult to resist. He crawled over to Freya, pressed a finger against the center of her brow, hesitated for a moment, and chose "confidence."

The Golden Demon Tree used negative emotions to lure people into traps of its own making, so players had to respond with positive emotions. Judging from Freya's usual behavior, Brando believed that her apparent stubbornness and persistence were, rather, a layer of protection over her inner weakness. He hoped the future Valkyrie could become more confident. Only confidence could help a person mature.

Still, he couldn't help thinking that these two really had no defenses against him at all. In this state, it would be incredibly easy for him to take advantage of them. He glanced at the sleeping Freya and Roman. In particular, Roman's smooth, jade-like forehead made him inexplicably develop the delusion of wanting to kiss her.

Brando's heart pounded, and he hurriedly reined in his thoughts. Although he liked the Merchant's Daughter, he wasn't a shameless scoundrel. He rubbed his forehead as all sorts of bizarre thoughts jumbled together in his mind.

He couldn't help thinking of his own dream again.

After leaving the dream, his state of mind had changed completely. That feeling of having gained something yet lost something had made him more mature. He knew he wouldn't turn back. The meaning of time lay in the repetition of one generation after another, after which everyone had to walk their own path alone--

He was no different.

Now that he understood Brando's aspirations, he also had to make plans for his own future path. Only he knew that the Black Rose War would end soon. In the game, the war lasted only from the end of May to the end of July. The nobles were fundamentally unwilling to become involved in a war.

This coincided with Madara's plans. Its external invasion was an outward manifestation of the country's internal upheaval, but Madara didn't want to provoke the entire Light camp, so retreat was inevitable. Since neither side on the battlefield wanted to fight a prolonged war, peace talks were a foregone conclusion. Still, they would be more like a farce. Brando knew that the Eluin he was willing to fight for was not the Eluin that existed now.

He was waiting for the Regent Princess to ascend the throne.

Of course, he couldn't do nothing in the meantime. He expected the royal family to honor certain people after the war, both to establish heroes and to soothe the people's hearts. There might even be a recommendation slot for Basta Royal Cavalry Academy, just as there had been in history. But Brando had little interest in that slot. To be honest, he wasn't interested in entering Eluin's outdated system as it currently stood. Letting Freya pursue further studies there, however, was a good idea.

But what should he do? Brando couldn't help wondering. What lay before him was the beginning of an era of chaos. One person's strength was ultimately limited. He needed a territory, and he needed to rally people to support his ideals. He knew that, with his familiarity with history and the world, he could quickly develop his territory. But where should he begin?

Should he take Eluin's internal route? Setting aside whether there was enough time, he was also unwilling to become involved in the war too early. He had to keep a low profile so that the truly powerful forces wouldn't notice him.

As for becoming a local warlord, he could forget it for the same reason. Another route was that of a pioneer. There were pioneers in the game, and there were pioneers in reality as well. In this dark world, not every territory was under the control of the nobles. Along the kingdom's borders, at the boundary between civilization and the wilderness, there were still many undeveloped virgin lands. Ever since the Anin Dynasty, Eluin had maintained an edict stating that pioneers who discovered new territories could immediately claim them legally, while the kingdom would grant them titles based on the size of their territory.

These titles were not hereditary, and most of the land would be reclaimed by the royal family and the Templar Knights after three generations. Even so, people who were willing to seek a chance to rise through this path still flocked to it. Among them were desperate gamblers, adventurers, mercenaries, unscrupulous merchants, and even bona fide Templar Knights and members of the clergy. Here, there was little difference between them.

Speaking of such virgin lands, Brando couldn't help growing excited. He knew of quite a few along Eluin's borders. Their sizes varied, but at least they were options. Yet when it came time to choose, our protagonist couldn't help wavering.

He didn't have particularly great requirements for development potential or geographical location. The key was that the place had to be concealed, and preferably one of the territories that would later contain "ruins." After all, he had neither manpower nor supplies. The city ruins from the game could save him a great deal of effort.

He thought for a while and finally remembered a place. In the game, that place was known as the most legendary territory. Later, due to its owner's mistake, it was destroyed by his enemy in a single fire. Even so, discussions about it on the forums had remained endlessly popular.

He remembered seeing countless people say: If "Valhalla" had survived, wouldn't things have turned out completely differently by now?

Brando couldn't help becoming excited at the thought. Had he never thought the same? If that legendary territory hadn't been destroyed, its eventual development would surely have exceeded everyone's expectations. Who would have thought that this daydream could actually be realized in his hands?

He was lost in his fantasies when he suddenly felt the person beside him move slightly. Then Freya opened her eyes. When she saw Brando's hand resting on her forehead, she was initially startled. But immediately afterward, the bewilderment in the future Valkyrie's eyes receded like a tide. She suddenly came fully awake, recoiled, and looked at Brando with a flushed face.

Even without her saying anything, Brando could clearly read what was written across her face: Y-you shameless scoundrel, what are you doing?!

He shook his head and was about to explain, but Freya seemed to react first. As if she had suddenly remembered something, her cheeks deepened in color. "I'm sorry, I..."

"It's fine. All right, go set an alarm for Roman and tell her it's time to wake up." Brando answered with feigned ease.

"An alarm?"

Brando coughed, realizing that he had let that slip. He then explained in detail the origin and function of infusing faith. He had thought it would be a very simple matter, but he hadn't expected Freya's expression to change as soon as she finished listening.

"Y-you didn't use it on Roman first?" she asked nervously as she stood up.

Huh? Brando was stunned. Surely you're the one with the more fragile psyche, Miss Valkyrie. But before he could finish the thought, Freya had already hurried over and lifted Roman from the ground.

The Merchant's Daughter's face was still pale, and her expression remained peaceful. But Brando was astonished to discover that when Freya helped the limp Merchant's Daughter sit up, two trails of tears slid down from beneath her eyelashes--

"What is going on?" He simply couldn't imagine that Roman could actually cry.

"I'll tell you later." Freya took a deep breath and placed one hand on Roman's forehead, but nothing happened. She froze for a moment, then immediately said, "Turn your head away!"

"Why?"

"Turn around, quickly! You're not allowed to look!"

Brando was stunned, but he quickly nodded. His curiosity was hardly any weaker than the Merchant's Daughter's when she was awake, and before long he couldn't resist sneaking a glance behind him. He immediately saw Freya turn Roman sideways, embrace her, and press her forehead against Roman's while murmuring anxiously, "Little Roman, wake up. Have you forgotten our promise?"

He couldn't help being slightly stunned. He knew Freya and Roman had a close relationship, but he hadn't expected that the Merchant's Daughter, who always said whatever came to mind, had secrets of her own.

But before he had time to finish being surprised, he saw Freya glaring fiercely at him.

"Sorry, my eyes looked on their own." Brando changed the subject.

"Y-you shameless man!" Freya scolded him with a flushed face.

"Sorry, sorry."

(P.S. There was a power outage this morning, so this came a little late.

As for the explanation regarding deleted posts in the book review section, some posts were deleted because of inappropriate remarks. They aren't being deleted randomly. Please forgive me.)