Act VI Freya

Sophie felt like she had been dreaming for a long time, in a quiet, dark environment. Everything in the dream was bizarre. However, only a black moon and a tall tower silently standing in the center of a pitch-black lake ran through the entire dream.

Did the moon symbolize something? What about the tower? Or was it just a nightmare?

Sophie didn't know, just as she didn't know when she would wake up. This state continued until she heard a conversation in her daze—

"Freya."

"Briden, did you make contact?"

It was a girl's voice, bright and clear—

"No, a group of monsters is guarding the main road. We can't find out where Uncle Maden and the others went, and this guy..."

The second voice was still a child's, and the source of the voice turned towards him. Sophie's heart skipped a beat, and she felt a gaze fall upon her. This gaze was like a thread connecting this world, making her body gradually feel heavy. The next moment, the young man realized—it was gravity.

Sophie finally confirmed it. She could feel her body, although it was still unresponsive.

Her breathing became a little ragged. Had she died?

"He's an injured person, take good care of him," the girl's voice replied.

Injured?

Was she talking about him?

Yes, he was severely injured. His thoughts became clear, and everything that had happened before appeared in his mind like scenes from an old movie, starting from the moment he was reborn in the body of the young man named Brando—Sophie never thought she would one day risk her life for something. It didn't seem like a decision a shut-in would make.

But he had succeeded after all. Martha be with me—

"Freya, he's awake," the child suddenly said.

"What?"

"I saw his eyelids move."

"Impossible, he's very seriously injured. Macmi said... Hey!"

Very seriously injured?

Indeed, Brando was already severely injured, and then he was hit by three swords when he activated his "Die Hard" ability. He remembered clearly that each blow to his lower abdomen and right chest was a genuine piercing injury.

Sophie's mind became active. With a thought, the sounds around her became clear. Panicked shouts, the crackling of fire, the clash of metal, and footsteps converged, drowning out the previous conversation. The surrounding temperature also gradually increased. At first, she felt a warm heat licking her face, but after a while, the temperature gradually became hot.

Hot.

She blinked, forcing her eyelids open with difficulty—the first thing she saw was a surprised young girl's face.

The girl, who should be called Freya, her first impression of Sophie completely matched her imagination of the person with the bright, clear voice: light brown hair, bright big eyes, and long hair neatly tied into a long ponytail at the back, accentuating her spirited face. She was looking down at him, and at the same time, Sophie was looking at her. She wore a close-fitting gray-white leather armor with a thick cotton shirt underneath. On her left shoulder was an armband—on which a beautiful black pine leaf was painted with homemade pigment.

A militiaman of Bucci.

He then noticed the sword in the girl's hand, a medieval Western European longsword, with a flame emblem on the iron plate of the sword's guard.

The mark of the Temple of Flames.

His gaze moved up, and he saw bloody bandages on the other shoulder and left chest of the other person.

Had she been through a battle?

Every detail escaped Sophie's eyes—

When he woke up, the surroundings suddenly became quiet.

"Where... is this?"

"Where's Romane... Cough cough!" As soon as Sophie spoke, her throat felt like a red-hot iron had fallen into it, burning and dry. The slight pain in her chest gradually spread throughout her body, and she couldn't help but cough lightly.

But the forest was eerily silent. The only response was the sound of the wind blowing from the direction of the Songshan Mountains. However, the wind, passing through the thick needles of the Golan black pines, had become faint and soft, rustling like a small river flowing by her ears.

No one answered.

"He's awake."

"I can't believe it, he survived such injuries."

"It must be the final spurt of energy..."

However, the surrounding whispers only reached his ears. Sophie was a little confused. What was going on? These people should be militiamen of Bucci, right? Had she been saved by them?

Then what about the merchant's daughter?

Had the plan succeeded? Had Captain Maden understood her intention?

She couldn't help but turn her head. The first thing that caught her eye was a bright campfire. The firelight flickered in her vision, and sparks rose along the black pines, disappearing into the vast night sky.

"You're awake?" The girl finally reacted and quickly stopped him, "Wait, don't move. This is Bucci, do you remember?"

"Bucci... Bucci," Sophie repeated the place name.

"Can you tell me what happened?" He exhaled. By all accounts, he should have been dead beyond death, whether from game experience or real-life experience.

The only possibility was if Miss Romanee had really found the potion of life.

"Little Phinis and Macmi found you in the forest not far from here," Freya observed him curiously. Although this young man named Brando had been in their village for almost a year, he didn't interact much with the other young people in the village.

He always stayed alone in his gloomy room, only occasionally accompanying Romane to a nearby town.

Everyone in the vicinity knew that this young man was interested in the girl with dreams of being a merchant, except for the girl herself, of course.

Thinking of this, Freya couldn't help but glance at him again, her eyes filled with suspicion.

"You guys?" Sophie retorted.

"You and Romane. I really don't know how you managed to escape," the girl couldn't help but sigh.

"What's wrong with her?"

"She's fine, don't worry. A million times better than you. You should focus on your own situation," Freya said, touching her forehead. She then softly asked, "But she keeps wanting to go to the village. Do you know anything about that?"

Sophie was taken aback.

This meant he hadn't used the life potion yet. Then what about his injuries? It was like an instinctive reaction. He subconsciously opened his status interface. A stream of emerald-green data flowed across his retinas. In the character status section, he stared in disbelief at a small line of text:

Health (Critical, Weakened): 10% (Bandaged, recovers 1 HP per day)

Impossible! Sophie's first reaction was that he was dreaming. No one knew his condition better than he did. He had fatal wounds all over him, accompanied by severe bleeding. By any measure, he should have been dead and buried.

How could he still have 10% health?

Sophie shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. But then he saw the girl beside him looking worried. "Don't move, you're badly injured..."

"Don't worry," he said, waving a hand subconsciously.

Sophie knew his own condition. Although he had some doubts, his current state was neither bleeding nor any other abnormality. Even though he was still in a weakened, critical state—he understood that he couldn't rush things and could only rely on slow recovery.

Because his injuries were stable, he was not in mortal danger, at least.

And this was what puzzled him the most: how did his injuries stabilize automatically? The Unyielding Talent didn't have this ability!

"You—!" Freya's eyes widened. She had never seen anyone so reckless.

At first, everyone thought this guy was as good as dead. They never expected him to wake up. Just waking up should have been enough to thank Lord Martha for her favor, shouldn't it?

The problem was that this detestable guy still looked so nonchalant. One should cherish their own life.

"Get back down!" The girl couldn't help but take a deep breath and command through gritted teeth.

Sophie blinked, unable to help but glance at her. What was wrong with this woman?

"You, you've also received militia training, right? My name is Freya, and I'm the captain of the Third Squad of the Bucci Militia. I'm now ordering you to temporarily obey my commands," Freya blushed slightly, realizing her loss of composure. "Is that okay?"

"You're Freya?" Sophie exclaimed, blurting out the question subconsciously. "Freya Alicia, born in the Year of the Blooming Flower, daughter of the Great Knight Everton?"

"Huh? How?" The girl was taken aback by the string of questions. "No, no, that's not right. My father is just a carpenter in town..."

A burst of laughter suddenly erupted around them.

"Freya, this kid's flirting skills are pretty good."

"Be careful, boss."

"Say a few less words, and no one will think you're mute. Macmi, Ike!" Freya retorted irritably, turning her head and glaring at the young men nearby.

Sophie also took this opportunity to turn his head and size them up. This militia squad had seven or eight people, fitting Eluin's organizational structure. However, the captain was a woman, and there was also a greenhorn...

He looked at the 'women and children'—one tall, one short—beside him, feeling a bit emotional. It seemed like just an isolated case, but in reality, it reflected how Eluin had been severely weakened by years of war.

The subsequent seemingly glorious revival would drain the last bit of vitality from this country.

Sophie couldn't help but sigh.

He had witnessed this history from beginning to end. He never expected to relive it in this life. However, he might be able to change something. He looked absently at the girl beside him—

That's right, Freya Alicia. Eluin's last general, later known as the Valkyrie of the Kingdom. She was the daughter of Everton, the 'Scepter of Fire.' She was lost in the countryside in her early years and later gained the appreciation of the Regent Princess, soaring to become one of the top rising stars in this country.

He hadn't expected her to have gone through this war as well—

Unfortunately, it wasn't time for her to take the initiative yet. Sophie understood that he had to be responsible for his own safety, and of course, for the lives of these young people.

"What are you looking at?" Freya turned her head. Upon meeting the young man's gaze, she couldn't help but be stunned.

His gaze wasn't one of admiration or infatuation. It was as if he were looking at a very strange animal, like he was inspecting her. Right, inspecting a person, not an animal.

"You haven't seen a dead person before, have you?" Sophie suddenly asked.

"Ah?"

"I mean, are you afraid of seeing people die?"

"No, I just..." The girl was stunned for a moment, momentarily speechless.

"Then my injuries have nothing to do with you. Can I sit up?" Sophie asked earnestly.

"No, you can't."

"Why?"

Freya was lost for words. She was indeed afraid. She was afraid of seeing someone die in front of her, no matter who it was—compared to the future high and mighty Valkyrie shrouded in countless auras, the current Freya was just a simple country girl.

She hadn't experienced the cruelty of war and still naively yearned for the good side of the world.

Sophie smiled slightly. He hadn't seen dead people either, but if he counted his experiences in 'Amber Sword,' he was more than twice as experienced as the current Freya.

He had at least experienced the pain of loss.

The memories of past people and events tossed and turned in his mind, causing him anguish and confusion. It was precisely these feelings that allowed people to mature and understand the value of cherishing what they have.

But it also sowed seeds of hatred.

"So, you're just a little girl. What makes you think I should obey you, Miss Freya?"

"You, you—"

Sophie knew that dwelling on this topic wouldn't do him any good. He glanced at the bandages on his chest again and quickly changed the subject, "Did you guys put these bandages on me?"

"Big Sister did. She's the only one here who knows first aid," a young punk next to them answered eagerly. He looked curiously at the young man, who indeed seemed experienced.

The militia of Brags was different from these small places.

"It's only enough to stop the bleeding for now. Don't you dare move around carelessly. I don't want to have to re-bandage you," Freya immediately warned.

Sophie knew that besides stopping the bleeding, the bandages' healing effect could only be used once.

However, he replied politely this time, "Thank you. Though the workmanship is a bit... lacking—"

"……"

Oh, Martha, help me. Freya took a deep breath. At that moment, she felt an urge to strangle this grinning fellow. What exactly did he want?

(PS. Looks like my wish for a third update is dashed, only 11 more people needed~~ Let's all keep trying! If we can reach the top 12 today, I'll unleash a triple update!)