Act Thirty-Seven: Awakening

Brando awoke from his grandfather's dream, opening his eyes to a cool sensation on his forehead. He gazed at the hazy sky and couldn't help but let out a long sigh. In the game, there were ways to break free from mental prisons using equipment and skills that instantly boosted willpower, and his Unyielding Talent was one of them.

However, he had a premonition that this wasn't the best way to solve the problem.

Regardless, having integrated Brando's memories, he couldn't bear to sever the other part of his soul. He wasn't simply one or the other, but a unified soul representing both Sophie and Brando. If he couldn't face Brando's weakness, he would never be able to face his own.

Only by truly knowing oneself could one fully accept the past.

This growth wasn't even just spiritual—

Brando's own acceptance of his past self brought him immense gains. He hadn't expected Brando's swordsmanship to have been personally trained by his grandfather. These memories had been sealed away by Brando's subconscious due to a self-defeating mentality—until now, when the memories of practicing swordsmanship as a child finally resurfaced and integrated into his soul.

What kind of swordsmanship was this?

Brando had once sealed away the swordsmanship taught by his grandfather, subconsciously believing he wasn't worthy of using it. Yet, even so, the swordsmanship talent that had seeped into the young man's bones from childhood had made him the undisputed sword master of the Anzek Militia.

Our protagonist couldn't help but open his status list. It now read: 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 profession level, but rewarded skills obtained through equipment and quests didn't count towards this limit. Swordsmanship at Level 4 was the equivalent of a normal person practicing for thirty to forty years, and it was definitely inappropriate to see it on an eighteen or nineteen-year-old.

But Brando felt that as long as he fully absorbed the essence of his grandfather's swordsmanship, his Military Swordsmanship could still gain another 30% experience at Level 4. The moment he thought of the old man's swordsmanship, a chill ran down his spine. That was at least Eluin Military Swordsmanship at Level 10. Brando's grandfather was truly a legend.

With a mix of thoughts, he sat up from the ground and couldn't help but look towards the center of the valley. The hazy aura emanating from the Golden Demon Tree had somewhat dissipated, indicating that the dream's power was weakening. He then turned to look at Freya and Romane—Freya's eyes were tightly closed, her brow furrowed occasionally.

The merchant lady's face was pale, but her expression was calm.

Fortunately, the situation wasn't as bad as he'd imagined. The next step was to inject faith. As long as everything went smoothly, the Golden Demon Tree wouldn't be so difficult to deal with. He crawled to Freya's side, placed his finger on her brow, hesitated for a moment, and chose "Confidence."

The Golden Demon Tree used negative emotions to lure people into its traps, and players had to counter with positive emotions. Judging by Freya's usual demeanor, Brando believed her outward stubbornness and persistence were more of a shield for her inner vulnerability. He hoped the future Valkyrie would be more confident—only confidence could lead to maturity.

However, he couldn't help but think that they truly had no defenses against him. In this state, it would be too easy to take advantage of them. He couldn't help but glance at the sleeping Freya and Romane, especially the latter's smooth, jade-like forehead, which sparked an unwarranted fantasy of kissing her.

Brando's heart pounded, and he quickly reined in his thoughts. While he liked the merchant lady, he wasn't a scoundrel. He rubbed his forehead, his mind a jumble of bizarre thoughts.

He couldn't help but think of his dream again.

After leaving the dream, his mindset had completely changed. The feeling of gaining something yet losing something made him more mature. He knew he wouldn't turn back. The meaning of time lay in the repetition of generations, and each person had to walk their own path alone—

He was no different.

Having understood Brando's aspirations, he also had to plan for his own future. Only he knew that the Black Rose War would end soon. This war, in the game, lasted only from late May to late July. The nobles were unwilling to get involved in a war.

This coincided with Madara's thinking. External invasion was an outward manifestation of internal turmoil in the country, but Madara did not wish to provoke the entire Light Faction, so a retreat was inevitable. Since neither side on the battlefield was willing to prolong the conflict, a peace treaty was a foregone conclusion. However, it would be more like a farce. Brando knew that Eluin, for which he was willing to fight, was not the Eluin of today.

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

Of course, he couldn't do nothing. He thought that after the war, the royal family would definitely reward some people, both to establish heroes and to appease the public. Perhaps, as in history, there would be a recommendation slot for the Bastar Royal Cavalry Academy. However, Brando wasn't interested in this slot. Frankly, he wasn't interested in entering Eluin's current outdated system. But it was a good idea to let Freya go for further studies.

And what should he do? Brando couldn't help but wonder. The current situation was the beginning of a chaotic era. A person's strength was limited after all. He needed a territory, and he needed to gather 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 start?

Should he go through Eluin's internal system? Not to mention whether there was enough time, he also didn't want to get involved in the war too early. He had to keep a low profile so as not to be noticed by the truly powerful forces.

As for occupying a mountain and becoming king, there was no need to think about it either, for the same reason. Another path was to become a pioneer. There were pioneers in the game, and there were also pioneers in reality. In this dark world, not all territories were under the control of nobles. On the borders of the kingdom, at the junction of civilization and wilderness, there were many uncultivated virgin lands. Since the An Dynasty, Eluin had had a decree stating that as soon as a pioneer discovered a new territory, they could immediately legally possess it, and the kingdom would grant them a noble title based on the size of the territory.

These noble titles were not hereditary, and most of the land would be reclaimed by the royal family and the Holy See after three generations. However, those who were willing to seek opportunities for advancement through this path still flocked to it. Among them were desperate gamblers, adventurers, mercenaries, illegal merchants, and even legitimate Holy Knights and clergy. Here, there was no difference.

Speaking of such virgin lands, Brando couldn't help but get excited. He knew of several on the borders of Eluin, and although their sizes varied, it was at least an option. However, when it came to the actual selection, our protagonist couldn't help but hesitate.

He didn't have a strong demand for development advantages or geographical location. The key was concealment, and it would be best to start with those later territories that had "ruins." After all, he was alone, lacking manpower and resources. Using city ruins from the game could save him a lot of effort.

He thought for a moment and finally remembered a place. That place was known as the most legendary territory in the game, but later, due to its owner's mistake, it was destroyed by his enemies. However, the discussions about this place on the forums were always endless.

He remembered seeing countless people say: If "Valhalla" were still preserved, the situation would be completely different now?

The moment Brando thought of this, he couldn't help but get excited. Hadn't he thought the same thing? If that legendary territory hadn't been destroyed, its eventual development would have exceeded everyone's expectations. He hadn't expected this daydream to 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. She saw Brando with one hand on her forehead and was initially stunned. But immediately, the confused look in the future Valkyrie's eyes receded like a tide. She suddenly woke up, recoiled, and looked at Brando with a blush.

Even without her speaking, Brando could tell that her face clearly read: "You, you scoundrel, what are you doing!"

He shook his head, about to explain, but Freya seemed to react first. As if remembering something, the blush on her cheeks deepened. "I'm sorry, I..."

"It's okay, it's fine. Go wake Romane up and tell her it's time to get up," Brando replied, feigning casualness.

"Wake up?"

Brando coughed, realizing he'd slipped up. He then explained in detail the reason and effect of injecting faith. However, what he thought would be a simple matter took an unexpected turn when Freya's expression changed after listening.

"Why... why didn't you use it on Romane first?" she asked, standing up nervously.

"Huh?" Brando was taken aback. She's the one who seems more psychologically fragile, Miss Valkyrie. But before he could finish his thought, Freya had already rushed over and helped Romane up from the ground.

The merchant lady still had a pale face and a calm expression. But Brando was surprised to find that as Freya helped the limp merchant lady up, two lines of tears slid down her eyelashes—

"What's going on!" He couldn't imagine Romane crying.

"I'll tell you later." Freya took a deep breath, placed a hand on Romane's forehead, but there was no reaction. She paused for a moment and immediately said, "Turn your head away!"

"What for?"

"Turn around, quickly, don't look!"

Brando was stunned but immediately nodded. However, his curiosity was no less than that of the merchant lady when she was awake. After a while, he couldn't help but sneak a glance behind him. He immediately saw Freya holding Romane sideways, embracing her, and murmuring anxiously, "Little Romanee, wake up, have you forgotten our promise?"

He couldn't help but be slightly taken aback. He knew Freya and Romane had a good relationship, but he didn't expect the merchant lady, who spoke her mind so freely, to have her own little secrets.

However, before he could finish being surprised, he saw Freya glaring fiercely at him.

"Sorry, he looked on his own," Brando said, looking away and changing the subject.

"You, you're shameless!" Freya scolded, her face flushed red.

"Sorry, sorry."

(PS. There was a power outage this morning, so this is a bit late.

Regarding the deletion of posts in the review section, some posts were deleted because of inappropriate content. We don't delete posts arbitrarily, so please forgive us.)