Chapter 176: Act 110 – Unexpected Gains (Third Update, Defeated the Oracle Emperor Again)
You know, Merchant Miss cannot always maintain such a calm demeanor. She knelt in front of Brendel, looking obediently downcast, but occasionally sneaking glances at his expression with her lively eyes—she had somewhat of the demeanor of a noble lady.
Of course, apart from her dirty and disheveled state, with her clothes covered in rips and signs of a struggle.
In a similar state was a genuine noble lady, Antinna, who clutched her tattered cloak, her face covered in dust. She kept her head down, remaining silent and looking somewhat anxious.
“Brendel, I…” Romaine saw that the young man’s darkened expression seemed to have softened a bit, and quickly tried to explain, but before she could finish her sentence, she was shot a glare from Brendel that silenced her.
She could only sulk and lower her head again.
She thought the plan had been perfect this time; if it hadn’t been for a small twist at the end, she would have been able to help Brendel greatly. Besides, even if there had been a minor issue, didn’t they manage to crush several lizardmen? Furthermore, they had sealed off the escape route.
She thought next time she definitely needed to use less.
However, if Brendel knew this stubborn girl was still thinking about engaging in such dangerous activities again, he might just feel like strangling her. He had inspected the site with Naminez and found that Antinna’s plan had indeed been sound. According to her original calculations, the cliff would have killed most of the lizardmen fleeing in that direction when it collapsed. Unfortunately, she had evidently picked the wrong partner—no, that might not be quite right. Antinna’s plan had remained purely theoretical; had Romaine not accidentally spotted it, this concept would likely have remained just a written proposal until now.
But sadly, there’s no such thing as ‘what if’ in history. Just as the word ‘caution’ never existed in little Romaine’s dictionary, she was always a doer, and any plans she made were based on her inherent understanding of practice.
As Brendel thought about this, he couldn’t help but turn his gaze to Antinna. It seemed that the noble lady felt his stare, as she couldn’t help but shrink back slightly. She whispered, “I’m sorry, Lord, it’s all my fault…”
“No, this has nothing to do with you.” Brendel shook his head.
Indeed, if it hadn’t been for Romaine taking the liberty to change the amount of explosives Antinna had set, there wouldn’t have been such chaos, and instead of crushing two lizardmen, they had nearly buried both of them under the rubble. It was fortunate that Antinna had discovered it in time; otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
Thinking of this, Brendel couldn’t help but glare at Romaine once more. This was what angered him the most; he didn’t care how much help Romaine was to him, as long as she didn’t constantly act like a fool and put herself in danger, he would be thankful.
But he couldn’t help but sigh again.
The girl from Buche had some insights that seemed almost instinctual, as if it were a born ability. Yet at times, she could be scatterbrained enough to drive one to distraction; for instance, Brendel was now rubbing his temples.
“Do you always come up with plans like this?” Brendel suddenly asked.
Antinna was taken aback; she had thought Brendel was going to reprimand her. His affection for Romaine was obvious to everyone, and she couldn’t imagine how he would view her if her actions caused problems for the Merchant Miss. Although she had endured the most difficult period, people were always like that; it was easier to go from frugal to extravagant than from extravagant to frugal. She believed she was now unable to adapt to the life of that time.
Moreover, this young lord respected her deeply, willing to grant her the same status and treatment as before, and willing to interact with her on equal terms. Other than having to trudge through the wilderness a bit more, she didn’t feel there was much to complain about. Besides, the hardship was merely temporary; she still had many plans unfulfilled.
Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but feel ashamed: “I’m sorry…”
“No,” Brendel glanced at Romaine to check whether she was sincerely regretting her actions, “I meant the plans.”
The noble lady was momentarily stunned, unsure what Brendel wanted to know. But in the end, she nodded. In fact, ever since Brendel had invited her into the group, she had devised comprehensive plans for each of his actions. At first, she was indeed proud of these plans. However, over time, she found that these plans often bore signs of immaturity, especially when compared to Brendel’s seemingly prophetic decisions, which made her own plans seem like childish scribbles. Thus, Antinna began with a competitive spirit, wanting to become Brendel’s aide, but she gradually found that wish drifting away and becoming somewhat laughable—ultimately, while she hadn’t given up this habit, it turned more into a form of self-examination.
Planning in advance, and then repeatedly testing her plans throughout the events, checking whether she had matured enough and abandoned unrealistic ideas. She hadn’t realized that Romaine had caught her in the act, witnessing her most daring proposal.
Just thinking about it felt like Martha playing a prank on her.
“Why didn’t you show it to me?” Brendel asked.
“I…”
Brendel paused for a moment, probably guessing what the girl was thinking. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Miss Antinna, you are my aide; you recommended yourself to me. So, it should be appropriate for you to bring your suggestions to me, right?”
“I’m sorry… I know, but at that time… I didn’t realize how immature I was. I’ll do better next time,” the noble lady replied softly, her head nearly touching her chest. Of course, the Merchant Miss beside her had less shame; in fact, she was trying to interrupt: “Brendel, this was my fault; don’t keep making trouble for Antinna—”
Brendel, at least, wasn’t about to be choked to death by her, thankful that he had sent Husher and Naminez away, or he might really struggle to maintain the so-called ‘dignity of the superior.’ He inhaled deeply, too lazy to deal with this girl, and continued, “Miss Antinna, everyone matures from immaturity. But what’s different is that not everyone has a mind like yours; if you give up this opportunity just because you feel immature, it would be too unfair to Lady Martha, who cares for you.”
Once Brendel finished speaking, he saw the noble girl look up at him, puzzled.
“A person’s insights are always limited; Husher can help me with many issues; he has a lot of experience, but in one aspect, he is far inferior to you, Miss Antinna.” Brendel pointed at his head, “So, I hope you won’t distance yourself from this circle; I want you to help me, and I’m confident you can—will you?”
In fact, he didn’t say all this merely to comfort Antinna; he knew he was presently wrapped in a prophetic halo—something that seemed a bit terrifying, especially for a competitive girl like Antinna, whose confidence would take a major hit. But Brendel understood that his prophetic foresight was only temporary; even though his insights into the world’s historical changes were not particularly significant, this ability to predict situations would only persist for a few more years.
A few years later, players would begin to participate in weaving the tapestry of this world’s history. In contrast to the past game world, this was the most significant difference. Without player involvement, the direction of history would invariably change to some degree; during that time, his experiences and knowledge from the game would still be usable, but the ability to predict future situations would likely diminish significantly. In fact, this time the entire process of the quest evolving into a perfect storyline had sounded an alarm for him. Brendel began to realize he needed some support. In past games, he had never been a top-tier warrior or leader. Of course, the former could be compensated for by experience, whereas the latter required a different approach.
He had a Valkyrie for the future, but that wasn’t enough—at least Antinna’s sharp insights could discern the full picture from some details, a skill he aspired to possess. Perhaps compared to being a ‘prophet’ she was slightly inferior, but as an aide, she should be more than adequate.
Antinna was stunned; Brendel’s words “I’m confident you can—” moved her deeply. For a proud person, nothing could be more precious than trust. Although she still believed Brendel was merely comforting her, she gently inhaled and nodded earnestly—her nod was not just an agreement but a resolution—she was certainly willing to partake in his ambitions.
Brendel hadn’t expected his words to have such an impact; he merely thought they had alleviated her doubts. To him, Antinna seemed a bit too withdrawn. However, he glanced at Romaine again and asked, “Do you still have the shatter crystals?”
“Lord, you know?” Antinna was surprised again.
“Cough, more or less…” Brendel coughed, wondering if this era actually lacked such a thing? Was it possible that the shatter crystal was invented by this girl right here? That seemed too coincidental, though he still vaguely responded, “The tower wizards have similar items, so I just asked casually.”
“How coincidental,” the noble lady spoke quietly, “I named it the shatter crystal as well. In fact, I completed it using the core waste of a magic conduction device because its mechanism works by using magical energy to penetrate the framework of stable physical laws, rapidly activating elements to produce an explosion. That’s why I named it this.”
So it really was her invention!
Brendel couldn’t help but glance at this noble lady again; this object was quite impressive. Although it had gradually been phased out by the late stages of the Second Black Rose War, it had caused a tremendous impact in the early phases, leading players to believe it was akin to explosives in the magical world. Unfortunately, this item’s structure was too unstable, making it unsuitable for transportation and storage, and its efficacy appeared diminished during the increasingly intense wars of later stages.
“Do you have more?” he asked.
“I have some left,” Antinna replied immediately, “If Lord needs it, I can manufacture some overnight.”
“Overnight?” Brendel was taken aback; wasn’t the production of this thing supposed to take at least half a month?
Seeing Antinna nodding, Brendel almost thought history had changed, so this lady had invented a different type. Crystals that could be produced in just a few hours? Calling this an exploit would be an understatement! Just as he was about to inquire further, he saw Husher in the woods below, waving at him eagerly.
What was he doing back here? Weren’t they supposed to be cleaning up the battlefield with the Red Hand girl? Brendel was momentarily surprised, but seeing that Husher seemed impatient to run up to him, he quickly told Antinna, “If possible, I hope to have one or two pieces on hand. By the way, this thing is very unstable, right?”
Antinna looked at him in surprise, then nodded. For her lord’s prophetic awareness, she felt somewhat numb.
Of course! Brendel exhaled in relief, thinking that history hadn’t changed. He said, “I’ll teach you a method later to temporarily stabilize it, but the effect will be limited; you’ll need to study the rest on your own.”
“Ah?” The noble lady couldn’t help but exclaim quietly.
He knows this too?
Antinna had just thought she had gained some resilience in her spirit, only to be struck down again. She had believed she still held some advantage in the field of magic, but it seemed Brendel understood this area even better than she did. However, the noble girl from Bruglas probably didn’t realize that she had somewhat wronged Brendel this time; he didn’t understand any magical technology at all. In past games, that was a skill accessible only to secondary players, while a warrior-type player like him would naturally have no chance of acquiring it.
But even without deep knowledge, that didn’t prevent Brendel from knowing some materials and formulas, did it?
While Antinna was surprised, Romaine, on the other hand, finally noticed that the one person who could keep her in check had finally left. The Merchant Miss let out a long sigh, expressing her gratitude to Antinna, “Thank you, Antinna.”
Antinna glanced at her and quickly shook her head, thinking that she would be thankful as long as Romaine wouldn’t cause trouble for her. To be honest, she was now somewhat afraid of this young lady.
However, Romaine didn’t seem inclined to let go of the only person who could converse with her; she thought for a moment and asked, “By the way, Antinna, did you see that?”
“That?”
“Yeah, when we were buried, it seemed like there were some glowing dots like fireflies that flew towards us from the hillside. Did you notice?”
“This…”
“Were there?”
“I think there might have been…”
……
When Brendel saw Husher, he coincidentally saw the experienced mercenary captain holding a thick black-covered book. He was slightly taken aback; this object was undoubtedly the relic of the obscure priest, as evidenced by the three lightning-like scars on its cover that clearly gave it away. However, Brendel was somewhat astounded:
The Red Hand girl truly is something else, being able to loot gear from the recognized ‘penny-pincher’ obscure priest. In the past, this could have been flaunted on the forums, but unfortunately, there was no forum here, which made Brendel feel a bit awkward.
Besides, it wasn’t even him who had opened it.
“What is this?” he asked.
Husher looked at him mysteriously, saying nothing, and simply opened the book gently in front of him.
Brendel took just one glance and then fell into a state of shock—
……
(PS: Perfectly defeated the Oracle Emperor, all dispatched to the 8th floor!!)(To be continued, to find out what happens next, please log in for more chapters, support the author, support legitimate reading!)
