Chapter 314: Act 81 – Dilemma (Fifth update, stay tuned)
Kewen lowered his hand, as if he had come to a realization.
Mahler and Joeka watched him from the side, feeling a bit uneasy. After all, Kewen was still their companion. For the young man, such a separation felt a bit cruel. They had all thought about it; if Kewen could not leave, they would stay behind.
At worst, they all wouldn’t get out together.
Mahler even thought darkly that perhaps Brendel would also stay behind. He had watched the young man’s difficult choice. He wanted such a big figure—Brendel had already met the standard of a big shot in his heart—here to accompany him; then what was so great about them staying here?
But Kewen remained silent. The frail young man was quiet for a moment, as if he had made some sort of decision.
He stood up, raised the card in his hand once more, and threw it far away. “Sir, catch!” Kewen shouted with all his might at Brendel.
Brendel turned his head, surprised to see what was happening.
“Are you crazy?” Mahler was completely dumbfounded by Kewen’s actions.
But the frail young man showed a satisfied smile—a smile full of ambition and longing, impossible for someone of his status. At that moment, he seemed no longer a mere miner boy—but a master of his own domain.
Brendel looked at him in confusion.
Kewen smiled slightly, straightened his back, and said: “Sir, during my days as an apprentice, I learned one thing. I know that in the eyes of big shots, the lives of people like us are insignificant…”
He shook his head: “However, I believe that even insignificant people like us have opportunities to change our destiny. Perhaps I can’t do it, but at least just now, I discovered I also have the chance to change the fate of a big shot like you.”
His words left everyone momentarily speechless, unable to help but wonder if this kid was crazy.
But Kewen was not crazy. After a cough, with the help of the girl behind him, he managed to catch his breath and continued: “I don’t know what this card can bring you, but if it brings you good luck and allows you to escape from here, then in the future, dear sir, a part of your legend will be mine—won’t it?”
Brendel was stunned. What kind of theory was this?
He looked at the young man carefully for the first time, filled with surprise. He didn’t know how to evaluate this thought; it was full of the madness of a gambler, yet evoked a hint of admiration.
Unrestrained admiration.
However, why did the other party hold such high hopes for him? Brendel felt confused and couldn’t help but ask: “This card does mean a lot to me, but even if I get it, it won’t change my fated failure. Am I wrong in saying that—do you regret it?”
Brendel looked in that direction and honestly spoke about his current predicament.
Upon hearing this, Juliette and Xi were also stunned, and they unconsciously held their breath.
“Wait a minute, kid, you…” Kuran finally reacted at this moment.
But Kewen was not surprised. The young man smiled: “Yes, but dear sir, as long as you pick up that card, you have at least accepted my goodwill, haven’t you?” He continued: “Besides, your words just confirm my thoughts. As for the outcome, I don’t care.”
“Kewen…” Joeka and Mahler were stunned; it was as if they were seeing this companion for the first time. But for some reason, at this moment, the feelings swirling in the hearts of these young men towards their companion were a mix of reluctance and unfamiliar worry, yet they also felt an inexplicable admiration for him.
Brendel had previously left them with an undefeated impression through his challenges, yet at this moment, Kewen seemed to stand on equal footing with him in terms of momentum.
This was something they couldn’t imagine.
Brendel fell silent at Kewen’s response. He thought that people who had such ideas were either madmen or truly remarkable individuals. But looking at the boy named Kewen, he appeared to be neither.
But wait—
“What’s your name?” Brendel suddenly asked.
“Kewen Kwanar. My surname was given to me by my mentor—” the boy replied.
Kwanar lord, indeed it was this kid! Brendel suddenly understood! Historically, Kwanar had indeed grown up in the countryside of Toniger, but he hadn’t expected it to be in these mines.
Brendel immediately thought that the young man must have followed this quest line in the past game, gradually rising to the peak of power. But what exactly changed his fate? Was it merely those cold iron mines? Or something else?
However, historically, Lord Kwanar replaced Count Rendener, becoming the king of Rendener. His journey from commoner to duke was almost a living legend, yet there was no record that stated he had died in the Schafflund mines at any point.
So could there be a turnaround in this entire matter?
Or was it because of his arrival that history changed?
Brendel’s hand on the hilt of the Earth Sword trembled slightly, for the first time feeling uncertain about the future direction. Meanwhile, Romaine listened to the conversation between Brendel and the young man and could sense the confusion even from a distance; even someone as bold as her could detect that something was off.
She furrowed her little brows anxiously: “Brendel, what should I do?”
“Give up the challenge, Romaine.” Brendel snapped back to reality and responded to her. No matter how the future unfolded, he must face his choices at least right now.
“Give up?”
But just at that moment, a voice intervened. Although it sounded a bit old-fashioned, it was robust; it was an unmistakable loud voice typical of dwarves—Odum finally snapped out of his shock from the runic dwarves’ sage’s construction of the sanctuary and heard Brendel suggesting that they give up the challenge.
This was simply intolerable! It was a desecration of dwarven dignity. No dwarf would retreat in the face of a challenge; that was cowardly behavior.
Moreover, he was a noble runic dwarf, a descendant of the People of Silver. Not to mention this place was a temple carrying the souls of his ancestors; countless spirits were now hovering above the sanctuary, watching everything below.
How could he possibly back down?
Odum immediately expressed his strong discontent. “Even if I’m an old man, I will absolutely not back down here! This is our runic dwarf territory—rude kid!”
The term “rude kid” struck a chord with Kuran, who felt he had never heard a more fitting descriptor in his life, making him even more fond of the stubborn old dwarf.
In his view, the guy from the Tobas family was indeed extremely rude.
“Odum, what are you doing here?” But Kuran first asked.
The old dwarf was just starting to pour out his grievances to Brendel when he suddenly noticed Kuran, stunned. He recognized this golden-level Chief of Security, but seeing him all bruised up made him even more shocked: “Captain Kuran, what happened to you?”
“Because this indeed is a great place for your runic dwarves,” the elder replied with a raised eyebrow, sounding annoyed. “By the way, how did you end up as a runic dwarf? Weren’t you a golden dwarf?”
“A golden dwarf is just one of my hometowns; I’m a bona fide runic dwarf.” The old dwarf bristled at the questioning of his lineage.
“Well then, assuming you are indeed of the People of Silver, what are you doing here?”
“I…” Odum was stumped and suddenly realized that the old Chief of Security was smiling—of course, to him, it had become a sly grin. The old dwarf finally realized he had walked into a trap; he stammered, trying to come up with a reason. He couldn’t just say he had heard there was a legendary treasure here, claiming that as the last bloodline of the runic dwarves, he had the right to inherit it, could he?
Others aside, Count Rendener would probably be the first to deem him, the last bloodline of the runic dwarves, unworthy—at least transitioning from a lively state to a dead one.
However, just as he pondered his predicament, he saw the Earth Sword in Brendel’s hand.
The old dwarf’s expression immediately changed.
“Z…Z’ore…” he blurted out, but then realized something was wrong and shouted in Cruz language: “Earth King… how did this sword end up here?”
“You recognize it too?”
Brendel had been left out of the conversation for a while and looked at him in surprise. Few could recognize this item as a heritage of the People of Silver.
Although Odum called himself the last bloodline of the runic dwarves, he had seen many of these so-called last bloodlines. Some had long since forgotten their culture and legacy, and aside from their physical traits, they had little connection to the People of Silver.
These individuals were often referred to as the remnants, of which there were many across the Vaunte continent.
Returning to the current situation, now that there were so many black-iron folk on the Vaunte continent, who among them wasn’t a descendant of ancient golden races? But the ages of gold and silver had long passed; after enduring the dark ages, the Vaunte of today had already diverged from the myths that had been depicted—
“Of course, sir.” The old dwarf looked at Brendel, for the first time slightly lowering his head, his attitude becoming more respectful. This made Kuran nearby feel rather displeased, thinking how this old guy was quicker to change his stance than that cowardly O’Gins—but he had personally experienced the stiffness of the other party prior.
The veteran swordsman’s gaze instinctively fell upon Brendel’s sword. It seemed the reason could only be found there. But although this sword was a good one, was it really that important?
Brendel realized this point at the same time.
“Is it very important to you?” The young man gestured to the sword in his hand; however, he had no intention of giving it to the other party. Not to mention that in the upcoming challenge, this sword would greatly enhance his strength; after all, wasn’t his hard-earned achievement of the challenge precisely for this Earth Sword?
“Rather than important, it’s more related to a legend,” Odum said, feeling somewhat disappointed. He had come for treasure, but if this sword appeared here, it meant that his treasure was likely done for.
The runic dwarves possessed many treasures, but there was only one related to the Earth Sword. The old dwarf recalled the legend and couldn’t help but cast another glance at Brendel.
He wasn’t a true runic dwarf; he was merely a branch of the runic dwarf bloodline that had fallen to the ground. He didn’t possess the exceptional talents typical of the People of Silver, nor had he learned a hint of the architectural techniques that could rival Bud’s crafting wizards from the ancestral legends.
However, he hadn’t lied to Kuran; he did consider himself a inheritor of this civilization—at least he thought so. Since the moment he was born, he had retained some mysterious information in his mind—these were undoubtedly passed down through the bloodline for generations, which was why Odum knew there were treasures beneath the mines of Schafflund.
……
(PS: What should I say, is the wheel of history slowly turning again? The time to seek support has come.)(To be continued; for more details, please log in, and there are more chapters. Support the author and support genuine reading!)
