Act VI: Freya

Su Fei felt as though he had dreamed a long, long dream. In that secluded darkness, everything in the dream seemed bizarre and fantastical. Yet throughout the entire dream, there was only a black moon and a tall tower standing silently in the center of a pitch-black lake.

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

Su Fei did not know, just as he did not know when he would wake up. This state continued until he heard a conversation in his daze—

"Freya."

"Briden, did you make contact?"

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

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

The second voice still belonged to a child. Its source turned toward him. Su Fei's heart gave a faint jolt, and he seemed to feel a gaze settle on him. That gaze was like a link connecting him to this world, gradually making his body heavier. The next moment, the young man realized—gravity.

Su Fei finally confirmed that he could feel his body, although he still couldn't control any part of it.

His breathing grew somewhat erratic. Was he dead?

"He's injured. Take good care of him," the girl's voice replied.

Injured?

Was she talking about him?

That was right. He had suffered severe injuries. His thoughts gradually cleared, and everything that had happened before appeared in his mind frame by frame, like an early film, beginning from the moment he was reborn through the body of a young man named Brando. Su Fei had never imagined that one day he would be able to stake his life on something. That kind of decisiveness did not seem like something an otaku should possess.

But in the end, he had succeeded. Martha above—

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

"What?"

"I saw his eyelids move."

"Impossible. He was seriously injured. Macmi said... Hey!"

Seriously injured?

Indeed, Brando had already been heavily wounded, and then he had taken three more sword thrusts when he activated Dead Hard Ability. Su Fei remembered clearly that the wounds to his lower abdomen and right chest had both been genuine penetrating injuries.

Su Fei's thoughts stirred. With a thought, the sounds around him suddenly became clear. Panicked shouts, the crackling of flames, the clashing of metal, and the sound of footsteps merged together, drowning out the earlier conversation. The temperature around him also gradually rose. At first, he felt a warm heat licking his face, but after a while, that warmth grew scorching.

Hot.

He blinked and struggled to lift his eyelids. The first thing that entered his vision was the startled face of a young girl.

The girl who was probably named Freya perfectly matched Su Fei's expectations of the owner of that bright, clear voice: light-brown hair, bright, wide eyes, and long hair neatly tied into a long ponytail behind her, setting off her spirited features. She was leaning over and examining him, while Su Fei was examining her as well. She wore a close-fitting gray-white leather cuirass over a thick cotton shirt. On her left shoulder was an armband bearing a beautiful Black Pine Leaf painted in crude pigment.

Buchi's militia.

He also noticed the sword at the girl's waist. It was a medieval Western European longsword, and a Flame Emblem was set into the iron disk on its guard.

The mark of the Temple of Flames.

His gaze moved upward, revealing bloodstained Bandages on her opposite shoulder and left chest.

Had she been through a battle?

Not a single detail escaped Su Fei's eyes—

When he awoke, everything around him suddenly fell silent.

"Where... is this?"

"What happened to Roman... Cough, cough!" The moment Su Fei spoke, his throat felt as though it had fallen onto a branding iron, burning and dry. A thread of pain in his chest gradually spread throughout his body, and he couldn't help coughing softly.

Yet the forest was quiet and still. The only response was the wind blowing over from the Yusong Mountains. After passing through the thick needles of the Golan Black Pine, however, the wind had become fine and gentle, rustling like a little stream flowing beside his ear.

No one answered.

"He's awake."

"I can't believe he survived injuries like that."

"It must be a final rally..."

Only then did the surrounding whispers reach his ears. Su Fei was somewhat confused. What was going on? These people should be Buchi's militia, right? Had they rescued him?

Then what about Merchant's Daughter?

Had the plan succeeded? Had Captain Maden understood what he meant?

He couldn't help turning his head. The first thing that entered his vision was a bright bonfire. The flames danced in his sight, while sparks rose along the Black Pine and vanished into the endless night sky.

"You're awake?" The girl finally reacted and hurriedly stopped him. "Wait, don't move. This is Buchi. Do you remember?"

"Buchi... Buchi." Su Fei repeated the name of the village.

"Can you tell me what happened?" He exhaled. Strictly speaking, he should have been dead beyond all doubt, whether judged by his experience in the game or in reality.

The only possibility was that Miss Romane had truly found a life potion.

"Little Finis and Macmi found you in the forest not far from here." Freya looked at him curiously. Although this young man named Brando had come to their village nearly a year ago, he had not actually interacted much with the other young people in the village.

He always stayed alone in his gloomy house and only occasionally accompanied Roman to the nearby town.

Everyone in the surrounding area, even a fool, knew that this young man was interested in the girl who dreamed of becoming a merchant. Of course, Merchant's Daughter herself was the sole exception.

At that thought, Freya couldn't help looking at him again, a trace of suspicion always lingering in her eyes.

"You?" Su Fei asked in return.

"You and Roman. I really can't imagine how you managed to escape." The girl couldn't help sighing.

"What happened to her?"

"She's fine. Don't worry. She's a hundred times better off than you are. You should pay more attention to your own condition." Freya rubbed her forehead, then asked softly, "But she keeps insisting on going to the village. Do you know what's going on?"

Su Fei froze.

In other words, he still hadn't used the life potion. Then what about his injuries? Almost instinctively, he opened his Attributes interface. A ghostly green stream of data flowed across his retina, and in the character status section, he stared dumbfounded at a line of small text:

Life (Near Death, Weak): 10% (Bandaged State, recovers 1 Life per day)

Impossible! Su Fei's first reaction was that he must be dreaming. No one understood his condition better than he did. Four fatal wounds, accompanied by massive blood loss—no matter how he looked at it, he should have been dead beyond all doubt.

How could he still have 10% Life?

Su Fei shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, but he saw the girl beside him looking nervous. "Don't move. You're seriously injured..."

"Don't worry." He instinctively waved a hand.

Su Fei knew his own condition best. Although he had some doubts, he was neither suffering from blood loss nor displaying any other abnormalities. Though he remained in a Weak, Near Death state, he understood that it could not be rushed. He could only recover through slow recuperation.

Since his injuries were stable, at least his life was no longer in danger.

And that was what puzzled him most. How had his injuries stabilized on their own? Unyielding Talent did not have this ability!

"You—!" Freya couldn't help widening her eyes. She had never seen anyone so reckless with his life.

At first, everyone had assumed this fellow was certainly dead. They had never expected him to awaken. Wasn't that alone enough to thank Lady Martha for her favor?

Yet this detestable fellow still looked completely unconcerned, when he should have been cherishing his own life.

"Lie back down!" The girl took a deep breath and ordered through clenched teeth.

Su Fei paused and couldn't help looking at her. What was wrong with this woman?

"You—you've received militia training too, right? My name is Freya. I'm the captain of Buchi's Third Militia Squad. I'm ordering you to obey me for now." Freya flushed slightly as she realized she had lost her composure. "Is that a problem?"

"You're Freya?" Su Fei was startled and blurted out, "Freya Alicia, born in the Year of Shuo Flowers, daughter of the grand knight Everton?"

"Eh? What?" The girl was stunned by the string of questions. "No, that's not right. My father is only a carpenter in town..."

A burst of laughter suddenly rang out around them.

"Freya, this guy's pickup lines are pretty good."

"Be careful, Big Sister."

"Say two words less. No one will mistake you for mutes, Macmi, Aike!" Freya turned back irritably and glared at the young men nearby.

Su Fei used the opportunity to turn his head and study them as well. The militia squad consisted of seven or eight people, matching Eluin's organization. Yet their captain was actually a woman, and there was even a little kid...

He looked at the tall and short "women and child" beside him and felt somewhat emotional. It appeared to be merely an isolated case, but in fact, it reflected how Eluin had been weakened by years of war.

The seemingly glorious revival that followed would drain the last bit of vitality from this nation.

Su Fei couldn't help sighing.

He had witnessed this history from beginning to end, yet he had never expected to experience it all over again in this life. Perhaps he could change something. Somewhat absentmindedly, he looked at the girl beside him—

There was no mistake. Freya Alicia. Eluin's final great general, the figure later known as the kingdom's Valkyrie. She was the daughter of "Scepter of Fire" Everton, lost in the countryside in her early years before earning the Regent Princess's recognition and suddenly becoming one of the brightest rising stars at the very top of the nation.

He had never expected her to have experienced this war as well—

Unfortunately, this was not yet the time to let her take the initiative. Su Fei understood that he had to be responsible for his own safety, and of course, for the lives of these young people as well.

"What are you looking at?" Freya turned her head. The moment she met the young man's gaze, she couldn't help freezing.

That gaze held neither admiration nor infatuation. It was as though he regarded her as some extremely strange animal. No, it was more like he was inspecting her.

But who inspected people? They weren't animals.

"You've never seen anyone die before, have you?" Su Fei suddenly asked.

"Huh?"

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

"No, I just..." The girl hesitated, suddenly at a loss for words.

"Then my injuries have nothing to do with you either. Can I sit up?" Su Fei asked seriously.

"No, you can't."

"Why not?"

Freya was rendered speechless. She was indeed afraid. She was afraid of seeing someone die in front of her, regardless of who it was. Compared with the Valkyrie of the future, who stood high above and was wrapped in countless halos, Freya was still only a simple country girl.

She had never experienced the cruelty of war and still innocently yearned for the kind side of the world.

Su Fei smiled faintly. He had never seen anyone die either, but if he counted his experiences in The Amber Sword, he had lived through more than twice what the current Freya had.

At least, he had experienced the pain of loss.

Longing for the people and events of the past turned restlessly through one's memories, leaving one tormented and lost. It was precisely such emotions that made people mature and taught them to cherish what they had.

But they also planted hatred.

"So you're nothing more than a little girl after all? What ability do you have to make me obey you, Miss Freya?"

"You—you..."

Su Fei knew that continuing to dwell on this topic would do him no good. He glanced at the Bandage on his chest and immediately changed the subject. "Did you apply the Bandage on me?"

"Big Sister did it. She's the only one here who knows first aid." The little kid nearby hurriedly answered. He looked at the young man curiously, as though the other really did seem to have plenty of experience.

The militia of Brags was indeed different from those in small places like theirs.

"It could only barely stop the bleeding. Don't think about moving around carelessly. I don't want to bandage you again." Freya immediately warned him.

Aside from stopping the bleeding, the recovery effect of the Bandage could only take effect once. Su Fei naturally knew that.

This time, however, he answered politely, "Thanks, though your technique could use some work—"

"..."

Martha above, Freya drew a deep breath. At that moment, she had an almost irresistible urge to strangle this grinning bastard. What exactly was he trying to do?

(PS: Looks like the dream of three updates has been shattered. We're still eleven people short~~ Everyone, let's work together and keep making wishes today!! If we can reach the top twelve today, there'll be three updates!)