Chapter 506: Act 254 – The Last Moments Underground, Farewell (Part 1)
“Something seems to be underneath this magic array.” After observing for a while, Otales whispered to Brendel. She felt a creeping magical energy seeping up from underground, like groundwater overflowing to the surface—Wind Spirits are naturally sensitive to magic, otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to create fantastical sword techniques. Brendel nodded, and the Centaur Lamia led the way as they ventured deeper after leaving the Crystal Cavern.
After walking for a while, the walls of the underground suddenly displayed a strange dark red color. Upon closer inspection, this dark red was actually caused by a sandstone layer, which seemed to be embedded with quartz and sparkled under the light. Brendel touched it, raised his palm, and was startled to find it covered in crystal powder.
“What’s going on?” He couldn’t help but stop to ask.
“The rock layer here has always been like this, ever since this underground hall was built,” the Centaur Lamia picked up a piece of rubble and examined it. “However, recently, the crystallization of these rocks has intensified; the red sandstone hadn’t extended this far before.”
Brendel instinctively sensed something was off. “Do you recognize this type of rock?” He bent down to pick up a piece of rubble and quietly asked Otales. She glanced at the stone in his hand, thought for a moment, and replied, “The characteristics of this rock are somewhat similar to the magical quartz sand found in the Black Forest. Have you heard of that kind of mineral?”
Magical quartz sand is a type of sandy magical crystal ore, produced in areas contaminated by magic, often found near streams in the Black Forest. It looks a bit like colorful golden sand. This type of crystal ore is mostly of poor quality; travelers might stumble upon it and get a small windfall, but organizing people to mine it would be a waste.
Of course, Brendel had heard of this mineral; he picked up the stone. “We’ll find out by experimenting.” Detecting the distribution of magical elements is a basic skill for any spellcaster, and Brendel had elementalist levels, so it was not difficult for him. He cradled the stone in his left hand, extended his right thumb, index, and middle fingers, aligned the magic triangle, recited a character filled with mysterious magic, and the stone immediately emitted a faint glow.
“Indeed, it is.”
“Exactly.” Otales nodded as well. However, this level of quartz sand hardly counts as a typical mineral; its magic is mottled and impure, and it doesn’t have any mining value. Simply put, it would be superfluous to bring a piece home.
“That means this area is severely contaminated by magic,” Brendel raised his head and cautiously looked around.
“But this is within the realm protected by Lady Martha, Brendel.”
“Which makes it suspicious.” Brendel discarded the stone and looked up, just in time to see Yilian stop. The Centaur Lamia stood firmly on her hooves, glanced ahead to confirm the distance, and said, “Young one, it shouldn’t be far ahead; there’s a dead end inside. Do you want to go further?”
Brendel took two steps forward, initially wanting to see what was inside. But as soon as he lifted his foot, a wave of golden ripples suddenly spread out in the space ten feet ahead, revealing a slowly rotating gold semi-transparent magic array that resembled the hands of a clock. Brendel had intended to say he definitely wanted to check it out, but upon seeing this array, he suddenly changed his mind:
“Let’s go back.”
“Eh?”
The Centaur Lamia and Otales both lightly exclaimed in surprise; they thought Brendel would surely want to go in for a look. The Lamia looked slightly taken aback, as if she thought of something and quickly explained, “This magic array is a seal set by the Master, but it doesn’t prevent me from bringing you in and out.”
But Brendel shook his head, seemingly resolved. “No need; if there’s nothing worth seeing inside, let’s not make it troublesome. The fewer times we open seals like this, the better.”
“That makes sense.” The Centaur Lamia nodded, though she looked at Brendel with some confusion. Having followed Chunximan for hundreds of years, her experiences surpassed Brendel’s, so she wouldn’t easily take his excuse at face value. However, since Brendel was unwilling, she didn’t press further.
Both women present were well-informed, and Otales shared the same doubt but was more straightforward, immediately whispering, “Brendel, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing; I instinctively feel danger,” Brendel shook his head. Otales understood; she knew Brendel trusted his instincts—though few young people his age had such experience and judgment, she was clear that Brendel was an exception. His judgment was always relatively accurate, hardly inferior to that of a thousand-year-old monster like herself.
On the other hand, Brendel’s reason for not wanting to enter was simple. The magic array was the same as the seal outside; in the Amber Sword, it only served to denote the level of an underground city. The seal outside was called the Chaotic Wall—sealing a dungeon of levels thirty to forty, while this one inside, called the Temporal Standard, marked the entrance to a dungeon of level three hundred. Therefore, as soon as Brendel saw this seal, he decisively abandoned the idea; he thought he had not yet lived enough.
(Notes: Brendel’s level 130 warrior is a pure warrior class, while players often occupy multiple roles; thus, in the game, a level forty dungeon is actually prepared for player teams around level thirty, while a level three hundred dungeon corresponds to top world teams of level one hundred fifty.)
Although he was curious about what was buried underground, his life was more important. Upon seeing this magic array, Brendel immediately decided to hold off and wait for another opportunity to return here later.
“Are you planning to head back then?” The Centaur Lamia suddenly asked. “However, I can’t take you back to the surface directly; you might have to wait for your companions to dig a passage.”
“It’s alright,” Brendel didn’t mind, smiling. “I happen to have some questions about travelers that I’d like to ask you.”
“Then let’s return to the hall.” The Centaur Lamia nodded, glancing deep into the cave. “In fact, I don’t like this place much.”
“Me neither.”
Brendel took a long look at the level three hundred magic array and nodded.
……
Time underground seemed to pass more slowly than on the surface, as if at some unnoticed moment, Romain had acquired a tremendous secret. Meanwhile, Charles was busy and overwhelmed, while time dragged on. They finally waited for the great Silver Elf Princess and the vampire cross-dresser, and after three to four hours of effort, they managed to open a passage, spending nearly the same amount of time digging into the tomb.
By this time, Brendel had already received most of the answers he initially wanted to know from the Centaur Lamia.
“Last question.” The information about travelers obtained from the Centaur Lamia was starkly different from what he had gotten from Tumen; it was more detailed, richer in specifics. Only now did Brendel understand that travelers were not detached from Vaunte’s history; they had always existed, once fighting alongside the ancestors against the Duskgazer Dragon, even taking on leadership roles.
Brendel even learned that the Dark Dragon Odin had once been a traveler; this news exceeded his expectations, but somehow it felt preordained. Considering the power of the Dark Dragon, he indeed had the potential to become a traveler. Moreover, the Dark Dragon often led his dark armies into battle, making it likely that summoned creatures existed among them, although the history was too distant to confirm.
The only thing that puzzled Brendel was that when Odin spoke with him among the fragments of the sealing stone, he never mentioned anything about travelers, and he wondered if it was due to an incomplete inheritance.
Yet the number of travelers made him question just how many existed in this world. Unable to resist, he asked, “Lady Yilian, you once said I’m the last one. So can you tell me how many travelers still exist in the world today?”
The Centaur Lamia seemed to have anticipated his question and sighed. “In the most ancient times of travelers, when the Earth Stone Tablets still remained in Babel Fortress, before they were scattered and lost by the traitor Hodler, the travelers formed a council that comprised forty-three members.”
“Later, as dusk fell, most travelers perished in the war during which the ancient divine beings fell; by the time the ancient epic prophecies foretold the darkness descending upon the land, only thirteen inheritances of travelers remained. My master Chunximan is one of them, and as far as I know, these thirteen inheritances mostly met unfortunate ends. By more than three thousand years ago, only six remained. And among those six, almost none had true successors, so if I’m not mistaken, you might be the only legitimate successor among this new generation of travelers.”
“You mean to say, there’s only me left among the travelers?” Brendel was left speechless. He couldn’t believe such powerful travelers had dwindled to this extent.
“Not necessarily; there might still be a few ancient ones left. However, it’s undeniable that the number of travelers’ successors is decreasing,” the Centaur Lamia shook her head. “For some unknown reason, the conditions to become a traveler are exceptionally harsh; most people can’t even progress to the step of contacting card rules. Among the few who can cross this threshold, most remain at the apprentice stage for their whole lives.”
Remaining at the apprentice stage? Brendel frowned; he himself hadn’t even broken through to that stage yet. However, just as he was about to speak, he saw the Centaur Lamia raise her finger to her lips and said to him, “Shh!”
Brendel turned back; he and the Centaur Lamia had remained in a corridor not far from the upper tomb. Now that it had quieted down, he heard the sound of shovels digging from above. “Your companions are here,” the Centaur Lamia whispered. “Well, let’s stop here. I don’t want others to see.”
Brendel was slightly taken aback.
Only then did he realize what the Lamia meant. “You’re not coming out with me? Lady Yilian?” He couldn’t help but look at her in surprise.
But the Centaur Lamia merely smiled gently at him, stepping back to stand in the darkness. Her eyes sparkled with an indescribable vibrant light. Brendel had seen unwavering determination in those eyes before, but now they only held gentleness and the warmth of hope. In that moment, Brendel understood she was truly going to leave him.
……
(PS: I drew some pictures in the afternoon and shifted the mindset, so the update is a bit late. No worries; I drew some character design for Amber. It’s mainly inconvenient to upload on Qidian. If I have the time, I’ll put it into public chapters.
Also, the recent discussion about the plot of travelers may lead some to think it has little relation to the main storyline, but that is not the case. This line is also one of Amber’s main plots, so I had to write this section. However, the plot’s progress won’t be as fast as everyone imagines; it will still be gradual.) (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please go to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
