Chapter 737: Act 94 – Rest in the Forest
Compared to the turmoil of the world, the tranquility of Frosty Forest felt like a still pond, as if the internal and external worlds were separated by an invisible wall, leaving only the light of dawn spilling across the dark night sky.
The knights passed through the forest, the pines rustling in the night wind, and it wasn’t until dawn that they gradually located some of their missing members. However, what surprised Brendel the most was that Freya and Laurena had found the sleeping huntress in a small grove.
Peiya was also the last to return to the group, and her return was quite unexpected for Brendel. The more confusion there was in a dream, the greater the power of temptation over one’s heart. Everyone knew about the nightmares lingering in the huntress’s mind, and by rights, she should not have been able to escape her terrifying dreams.
But she had succeeded. When she was found, she lay quietly on a patch of moss, her expression resembling that of a sleeping princess, lacking the wildness typically seen in a hunter; there were just traces of tears on her cheeks.
Brendel had Nemeses check on her condition, and after confirming she was fine, he instructed the others not to disturb her. Peiya’s dream had reached its final stage; they only needed to wait quietly for her to awaken. As long as she appeared outside the misty world, it indicated that she would awaken.
There was no need to worry too much about the rest.
The knights obeyed Brendel’s orders, dispersing through the woodland for a short rest. Brendel leaned against a cedar tree, where the young prince approached him, red-faced, to reclaim his sword before dashing away.
Not far off, Nemeses cast a quizzical glance at him, making Brendel feel somewhat guilty. Although he didn’t know why she appeared in his and Haruz’s dreams, she must have seen Haruz dressed as a woman.
“Hopefully, that guy won’t tell the princess; he shouldn’t, right? Nemeses doesn’t seem like the gossiping type,” Brendel thought to himself, feeling uneasy. He suspected that if Princess Grifian knew of his mischievous deeds, she might genuinely stab him with her sword.
While contemplating these chaotic thoughts, he rummaged through the dimensional rift and retrieved equipment that had dropped due to Viscount Kartel’s negative emotions.
He fished out a sparkling item, which turned out to be a necklace. He held the necklace in the palm of his left hand; the chain flickered with a faint sheen, resembling silver, while the pendant was a heart-shaped design that he vaguely felt he had seen before.
After a moment’s thought, he suddenly came to a possibility: “Could it be that?” A flicker of joy crossed Brendel’s heart, and he hurriedly opened the attribute panel:
Atoya’s Resolution
[Magic]
Strength +20
Constitution +20
Wind Resistance +5
Fire Resistance +5
Water Resistance +5
Earth Resistance +5
“It really is this thing,” Brendel felt a strange joy in his heart. He instinctively flipped the necklace over and found an ancient inscription on the back of the pendant:
‘T’ya Oss Eaam Flame——’
Which meant, “All elemental things are mine to command——.” This ancient text was a magical rune predating Vaunte’s existence, its origins even older than the history of witchcraft. However, these words had lost their magical power and had become mere tools for storing information.
The inscription actually referred to the Azure Dragon, the master of elements. Atoya was simply its name; however, after the fall of Babel Fortress, mortals preferred to call it a calamity.
This necklace could only be considered normal at this level, but it held special significance for Brendel because, like the Queen Wind ring, it was in fact a quest item.
‘The end of calamity, the gem of the Dragonborn crown,’ this legendary item was the final reward of this series of quests. It could simultaneously expand all four elemental pools, making it one of the god-tier necklaces for elementalist users, and it was something Brendel definitely needed. Originally, he had planned to find a way to acquire this quest necklace, but he never expected to obtain it without effort.
However, Atoya’s Resolution itself was not a rare object. The difficulty of this quest lay in the process, not the triggering mechanism.
Brendel took down the Flame Star necklace he had worn since Eternalwood Forest. It had been accompanying him ever since, but the ruby on the pendant had long been shattered during the last battle against Ampere Seale. He placed the Flame Star carefully beside him and put on Atoya’s Resolution. Although it wasn’t extraordinary, it was better than nothing.
Then Brendel glanced again at the dimensional rift, which had split into two lines. Inside the rift, a pile of loot obtained from the Loop of Trade Winds was piled up: armor, a Demon Bane spike, holy water, and Brendel had never considered organizing it. Among those chaotic items, a tube-like object about an arm’s length emitted a faint glow.
He paused momentarily before recalling that it was a prize from a battle with a demon. Initially, Antinna had held onto this object, and later passed it to him. He still hadn’t figured out its purpose.
However, demon items were generally not worth understanding. They were not possessions that mortals could master, most having various side effects; using them recklessly usually ended badly. For instance, Countess Dierphir could not even walk for long since the holy temple’s priests claimed she had sustained internal injuries. Brendel had always felt guilty about this.
Fortunately, this was considered relatively mild, as it was not uncommon for people to die or have their souls imprisoned eternally due to at demon item usage.
Thinking of Dierphir, Brendel lost interest in that item. Although witches in the Xinseric region excelled in identifying demon items, there was no need for him to make a special trip there.
After appraising the items in his hands, he felt strangely calmed, as if the forest had quieted down with him. The morning breeze began to sway through the treetops, producing a gentle sound that almost invited one to drift off to sleep.
Yet no one could sleep, as every time they closed their eyes, they would recall their previous nightmares.
Brendel sensed someone sitting beside him; it was Xi, who sat down next to Brendel without needing his permission. She turned her head and quietly observed Brendel’s actions with her beautiful amber eyes.
“Is something the matter?” Brendel asked.
Xi took out a ring and handed it to Brendel.
Brendel saw the ring in her hand—it appeared quite peculiar, somewhat like it had been polished through holes pierced in pebbles, smooth and simple—but he paused for a moment before realizing it was a magic ring.
“Is this your loot?”
Xi nodded.
It was a relic from the Nameless Ones, and it seemed Xi had a good streak of luck. He took the ring, which felt smooth against his fingers, its surface resembling satin, but its properties were not discernible.
Yet Brendel didn’t rush to guess its attributes. Such stone products were quite rare in Vaunte; some even bore witness to the world’s earliest ages. As he traced the inner surface of the ring, he felt a line of delicate indentations.
Those were markings from the Marler people.
“This is an ancient item!” Brendel exclaimed in surprise: “Xi, you are really lucky!”
“Hmm?” Xi looked at him in confusion.
“Most magical items post the fall of Babel Fortress originated from Tumen’s discovery of magical runes, but before that, there were already various magical items,” Brendel explained: “These magical items may not necessarily be stronger than what we see now, but they are quite unique—”
As he spoke, he raised the ring; the azure light from the sky filtered through the tree branches, casting a beam of light through the hole in the ring. The properties of the ring also appeared in his view:
Ring of Solid Stone
[Fantasy]
Strength +75
Additional Skill:
Ever-Beloved—When the bearer is on the ground, the attributes gained from the Ring of Solid Stone are doubled.
A level forty ring granting an additional one hundred fifty strength, albeit only on the ground, such extreme attributes were indeed rare among magical items from the era of magical runes. Its additional skill highlighted this point, as ancient magical items generally focused on one specific aspect but came with various limitations.
In the game, players referred to them as a category of special cursed items, a classification Brendel found quite reasonable.
This ring possessed no particularly special skills, but the attributes it granted were impressive for this level. Brendel suddenly thought that this ring was almost tailor-made for Xi due to the attributes of the Azure Lance and the powerful regeneration capabilities of a Dragonborn; thus, she did not need to focus too much on defense—this stone ring would undoubtedly best complement a full-attack warrior.
“This is a ring blessed by Gaia,” Brendel placed the ring down and said to Xi: “You are fortunate; it is your loot.”
Xi fell silent upon hearing Brendel’s response. She probably guessed the ring’s value but simply replied: “I don’t need it, my lord.”
“Trust me, it suits you better than it does me,” Brendel smiled slightly at the mountain girl: “Extend your hand, and I’ll put it on you—”
Xi was taken aback.
Brendel was completely lost in his own imagination. Full-attack warriors were rare in the game, as the nature of their combat style required melee physical classes to inherently have greater survival abilities than other classes. Close combat meant it was more difficult to evade area spells and attacks, necessitating a certain amount of health and protective abilities to survive such encounters.
Professionals like Nightingales could compensate through agility and speed, but what could a warrior rely on? A warrior had only solid armor and a robust physique.
Yet nothing was absolute. Brendel yearned for that kind of fearless spirit, for focusing purely on strength transformed a warrior into an exquisitely sharp yet easily breakable glass blade.
He believed that such a trait perfectly suited Xi’s combat style. The girl inherited certain traits from her mountain tribe, strong and unyielding in battle, bending but never breaking—leading one to rarely envision her usual demeanor when watching such a lady fight.
However, as Brendel contemplated this, he never considered how his request might mean something different for the mountain girl. According to the customs of her people, only the closest of friends would exchange rings.
Of course, their rings did not possess such powerful capabilities; sometimes they were merely flower crowns, but they symbolized mutual restraint and affection.
Xi sat there dazed as Brendel slipped the ring onto her finger, feeling as if time itself had stopped flowing.
“How does it feel?” Brendel held her hand, carefully sliding the Ring of Solid Stone onto her finger before looking up to ask.
“Uh?” Xi seemed to finally register, and she tried to push aside those irrelevant thoughts to focus on the sensation, then thoughtfully remarked: “It’s impressive; my strength has increased by two to three-fold. According to Miss Alorze, I should possess the strength of a young dragon—”
“That’s close to elemental strength, but only strength possesses this level. You can feel it carefully; this will be beneficial for your future elemental enlightenment. But remember, you’ll only have this power while on the ground; during combat, you must avoid leading yourself into other battlefields,” Brendel cautioned.
“Mm,” Xi nodded silently but then quietly asked: “Can I also enlighten my elements, my lord?”
“You have more experience than others; the wall of elements won’t be a barrier for you. Besides, the golden blood flows within you; you should feel prouder than others. Never belittle yourself, Xi,” Brendel said encouragingly while looking at her.
The mountain girl remained silent, merely tightening her grip on the Azure Lance. Brendel noticed this detail and could somewhat guess what was on her mind.
He turned back, recalling that the entire dream quest was a complete sub-quest, offering not only experience but plenty of it. He opened his panel, realizing that together with the remaining portion from before, it was nearly enough to elevate the Sanctuary Knight to the next level. Originally, advancing the Sanctuary Knight’s level wasn’t Brendel’s optimal choice, but since he found his constitution had been further enhanced after enlightening the elements, he changed his mind.
Since the enhancement was in constitution, it seemed the tanking route for the Sanctuary Knight was also acceptable. He pondered briefly and decided to increase his level.
The attribute bonus of high-level professions had become drastically high by the later stages; after level ten, with each level gained, Brendel could nearly feel his overall power increase to a new level, roughly by a third of his original capacity.
In fact, the current period after surpassing the wall of elements was the fastest time for leveling up, something he deeply experienced in the game. However, after passing the Truth Side, the speed of experience acquisition would slow down a hundredfold.
After that, he would have to rely on slow accumulation.
Fortunately, players with systems were still several times faster than the natives, regardless of circumstances.
Before long, news of the huntress awakening came through, brought by Freya. When Brendel and Xi went over, they saw the huntress’s thick lashes slightly fluttering before she opened her eyes.
……(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please consider supporting it on Qidian (qidian.com) with recommendation votes and monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation.)
