Chapter 541: Act 289 – The Length of Time
The ivy-covered corridor of the Lockesh Palace in Roksh was as smooth as a mirror, and red-robed monks occasionally passed by, their footsteps echoing away; Brendel sat on a long bench in the inner courtyard, bored, fiddling with his attribute menu. The pale green light screen stretched and contracted before him, with new windows popping up from the side now and then; but no one else could see this strange scene except for him.
Three hours had passed since the shocking events of the morning, yet the dust had not settled.
The massacre at the Hualishe Manor had shaken the entire Sanctuary, and it was said that an investigation was being swiftly launched by the upper echelons of the Sanctuary, though it would likely take some time to yield results. To Brendel’s surprise, after dispatching two gold coins and several silver, he found that the experience gained was just enough for him to level up. Now, his level as a Sanctuary Knight had reached sixteen; being an advanced class, the required experience was much greater than that of basic classes. The experience needed for a level sixteen Sanctuary Knight was almost equivalent to that of a level twenty-five warrior.
However, when calculating the number of classes, advanced classes were counted as the equivalent of their associated basic class, and each level granted significantly more attribute points than a basic class, thereby enhancing the character overall. In the past, the Amber Sword had considered the first advancement as an initiation. It took two years for the first senior class player to appear in the game, while Brendel had surpassed them by a whole year thanks to acquiring the Book of Mavikarth. However, that fragment now remained as just a small piece—Queen Wind’s Nine Suns were like a black hole sucking in experience.
While rummaging through his newly acquired attributes, Brendel seized the opportunity to absorb the last fragments of experience from the Book of Mavikarth. After leveling up once more, he took another step closer to the golden peak. Aside from his levels in militia, scholar, and elementalist, Brendel estimated that he would reach an overall level of around sixty in warrior classes before entering the realm of elements. However, unlocking the elements was a lengthy task chain, and with current distractions, he found the thought rather troublesome.
“If I don’t swiftly reach the realm of elements, it’ll be difficult to protect myself in the approaching tide of magic,” Brendel suddenly shook his head—no, the tide of magic had already arrived. The storm tide of the Loop of Trade Winds was just the beginning; while it hadn’t yet affected most areas of Vaunte, it was destined to become a reality. Recently, reports from various regions indicated that the activities of magical creatures were starting to become frequent. To the south of Erluin, astrologers believed this was a side effect of the storm tide from the Loop of Trade Winds.
They guessed right half the time; it was not a side effect, but the beginning. As someone who experienced all of this, Brendel knew this all too well.
He tapped the ‘+’ sign in the skill bar with his finger, and confirmation messages popped up continuously. He upgraded the Sanctuary Knight’s ‘Blood of the Sun’ and ‘Crown of Thorns’ to level ten. Intermediate skills began to require class levels, and he would need to wait until he reached level thirty as a Sanctuary Knight to unlock further skills. However, even at level ten, the Blood of the Sun could reflect fifty percent of damage, and the previously upgraded level eleven Conflict Aura now granted an additional eleven points of protection—only at this moment did his defense barely qualify as that of a warrior, with his overall protection nearly equivalent to that of an entire set of genuine magically enhanced armor, while before he resembled professions like the nightingale or ranger.
Brendel couldn’t help but find it somewhat amusing; while his upgrades were rapid this time around, his equipment couldn’t keep up with the pace. Although he had items like the Crimson Blessing, Ghost Knight Crystal, Warriors Ring, and Sword of the Earth, the other parts made him look somewhat like a beggar in his previous life. He even still wore items like the Elemental Bracelet and Flame Ring—though they were superb items around level twenty, they felt rather unremarkable compared to his current level. The Flesh and Blood Greaves were excellent, but they too were quickly falling behind his upgrading pace, not to mention he still hadn’t acquired proper armor.
This was all due to being overwhelmed with mundane tasks and lacking time to farm dungeons. Ever since leaving Ridenburg, his original plans had been thrown off due to the Bronzesteeldragon Mercenary Group. Although he had Duke Toniger on his side during the journey, his actual strength was far below Brendel’s expectations. Fortunately, he had finally caught up with the Ampere Seale meeting; otherwise, he would have doubted whether it was worth returning to this world again.
With this in mind, Brendel couldn’t help but furrow his brows slightly.
History had ultimately changed.
The noble assembly originally scheduled for the morning at Ampere Seale had been postponed to the afternoon due to the Temple of Fire, and the venue was changed to the Lockesh Palace of the Andefoor Temple. Just this alone was completely different from past history. Brendel couldn’t help but raise his head, glancing through the dim green shadows behind the ivy in the inner courtyard. He felt for the first time that his vision was shrouded in heavy fog—what was the reason behind the assassination in the morning?
When Brendel had last exchanged glances with Anlek, he had already confirmed that the old fox was involved. But it was abnormal; wasn’t it in his interest to support the royal faction? What disturbances had occurred? It seemed that Duke Anlek had aligned himself with the royal family of Siphai, while various nobles of Erluin had sensed the unusual winds.
To his surprise, more than half of the influential personnel were absent from the morning’s nobility meeting. If they claimed not to have received any hints beforehand, Brendel would never believe it. Even the Sanctuary’s public pretense of thunderous anger raised deep suspicion in him; the Ampere Seale, governed by the Sanctuary, was solid as a rock. Even if Brendel wanted to bring in a group to commit murder, he’d have to rely on the luck of fortune cards; could the bishops who served directly beneath the Sanctuary not be aware of so many cultists appearing under their watch?
This was clearly impossible.
However, Brendel still didn’t dare to be certain that the winds of change were all one-sided. In history, although the princess’s side seemed weak, they still had considerable support; in the end, with the backing of Duke Anlek, they triumphed in the civil war. Yet now it seemed that those who were originally supposed to stand with the royal faction had disappeared, and Brendel couldn’t understand why such a thing had occurred.
He searched his mind for any doubts, not letting any detail slip by. His advantage lay in his knowledge of the future and every recent event. Though history had changed, the current situation was always moving forward. Brendel believed that he could deduce the outcome from any small clue, though it might take some time.
He pressed his lips together, and his frown deepened.
At that moment, a figure appeared before him, entering his line of sight—Brendel felt his breath momentarily halt. “Brendel,” Freya, dressed in Erluin’s military attire, had her long ponytail cascading down her back, appearing valiant. Yet her expression was gentle, almost like a little wife. The future Valkyrie of Erluin seemed to realize something was off as her face flushed, “Long time no see.”
“Freya,” Brendel couldn’t help but smile, feeling that the gloom in his heart had dissipated the moment he saw this girl from Buche. “Is that all you have to say for coming to see me?” he asked with a light smile. The image of the strong, unyielding Valkyrie in his heart had faded into the distance and blurred, becoming increasingly clear was the moment they first met in Buche.
He still remembered Freya’s anxious expression telling him to lie down and watch his wound, clearly angry but utterly adorable. He had thought she was the Valkyrie back then, but now it seemed that was just Freya, plain and simple.
“You…” Freya, seeing Brendel like this, couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed again, although she had been anticipating this meeting. The princess had sent her to see Brendel, ostensibly to deliver a message, but Freya also noticed that the princess evidently knew about her relationship with Brendel; she was still a bit nervous, not sure how those prominent figures had found out.
“…Brendel, what are you doing here?”
“Did you forget, Freya? I asked you to get close to Princess Grifian.” Brendel replied.
“Right.” Freya remembered, her tension easing a bit because of her earlier annoyance, “Because you said that I can only help myself and everyone in Buche by going to the Royal Knight Academy. But Buche has now been occupied by Madara, are you suggesting we start a war?”
Brendel shook his head.
He lifted his head, his gaze still penetrating through the ivy in the inner courtyard, staring into the shadows behind it. “Freya, you are no longer the Freya of Buche. What do you think of Erluin, and of the princess?”
Freya fell silent for a moment, saying nothing and quietly sitting beside Brendel. After arranging her long ponytail, she whispered, “To be honest, Brendel, I never expected our country to fall into so much danger. Back when I was under Captain Marden, I thought that the kingdom might have some issues, but it was still very powerful. Life was so peaceful then, as though war was so far away.”
“Do you think this country has hope?” Brendel turned back to look at the girl’s charming profile.
“I don’t know, but I will share its fate.”
“Did you learn that at the Royal Academy?”
“A bit. But I think these feelings had already been buried in my heart; I just couldn’t see them before. Brendel, I must thank you for giving me the determination to go to the Royal Military Academy. Now I know this has been the most precious experience of my life. I feel—perhaps it has already changed my life.” After thinking for a moment, Freya replied earnestly.
Brendel smiled.
But the sensations in his heart were hard to describe; he had finally come to this point; the future Valkyrie was now sitting beside him, having recognized her true self. She had always been that person, like the sun, burning out the last bit of light. Brendel once hoped he would not change the path of this girl’s future, but by today, he felt that the plain and simple Freya of the past might indeed be her true self.
What, after all, had changed in this decaying kingdom, and who had the war changed?
Brendel’s gaming mindset faded a bit; he suddenly felt the world’s voice from another perspective. For everyone, history and future seemed an unchanging fate. It was so heavy, weighing down with stakes like faith and glory, betting one’s life to change it all.
“What do you think of the princess?” Brendel asked again.
Freya did not respond but instead asked back, “Brendel, can you tell me how you knew that the princess would stand out among the nobles of Erluin?”
“If that’s the case, you agree with the princess’s ideals then?”
“Cunning, but I asked first.” Freya glared at Brendel, asking angrily, “Brendel, are you a member of the royal faction?”
Brendel was taken aback, but inwardly he sighed; the girl from Buche had grown up. Although she was still that Freya, she had gained more insight and even recognized the royal faction. However, he shook his head, “You know, I’m a Highland Knight, and Highland Knights usually have no connections with the royal faction.”
The girl paused for a moment before nodding slightly. She remembered how Brendel had spoken to her in this manner before, but back then, she didn’t understand what he meant by the “royal faction,” “Highland Knights,” or “Tower Wizards.” Remembering that made Freya a bit embarrassed, as she had foolishly thought Brendel was a noble gentleman then.
Though that irritating fellow was indeed of noble descent.
In an instant, both of them fell into memories.
Remembering the starry sky of Buche, remembering Joson, who nearly died at the hands of the Necromancers, remembering the mountain path, the Golden Tree, the prison in Ridenburg, remembering battles in the night and the burning city. Fate was like a wondrous thread, twisting into a turn that neither could have imagined due to a single change.
After a long while, Freya asked, “Romaine is doing well, right? You haven’t bullied her, have you?”
“If she doesn’t bully me, that’s more than enough.” Brendel replied.
The girl couldn’t help but laugh; it did indeed seem that way.
Then she said, “The princess would like to see you, Brendel.”
“Hmm.”
Brendel nodded.
……(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to support with recommendations and monthly votes on Qidian.com, your support is my greatest motivation.)
