Chapter 982: Act 155 – The War Tablet: Dragon Skin I
“Me?”
“You,” Senior Bai Jia gently placed her teacup on the coffee table. “Can you still see the character attributes and list, menus, in the game?”
Brendel felt slightly uneasy, like a child whose secret had been discovered. He was often seen as a genius because of this secret, but deep down he knew how things really were. Though he had never admitted it, he had also never denied it, as acknowledging it brought him benefits. As a noble without roots, he needed authority both within the kingdom and before his subordinates, and someone with exceptional abilities often became a leader.
However, keeping such matters hidden was one thing; having them pointed out in person was another. Senior Bai Jia smiled gently, like a big sister next door, and said softly, “I guessed it. You don’t need to be too nervous; outsiders should not notice. And you don’t have to feel annoyed or embarrassed about it. You might be the only one in this world with such a capability, because I don’t have it. You are unique.”
Despite her words, Brendel still felt that this power was not something he had earned through effort, but rather something innate, as if he had simply been lucky. It did not feel like a personal ability. He often felt confused by this and thus appeared humble before his subordinates, seeming somewhat indecisive. Fortunately, his familiarity with the future allowed him to always find the right direction in the face of great trends, helping him to stay one step ahead of others, which brought him to where he was today.
In Senior Bai Jia’s dark eyes, there seemed to be a light of wisdom, as if she could see through Brendel’s thoughts. With a slight smile, she traced the edge of the white porcelain teacup with her fingertip, drawing circles. “You’ve done many things in Erluin, and these things cannot be accomplished solely through strength. Of course, strength is a necessary factor, but those who wield power do not necessarily understand its true meaning. Only when you master power while also restraining it can you attract people to you. This is the demeanor of those in power. I remember I once said in the game that you have a talent and potential in this regard, and Brendel does too.”
She lifted her gaze, her mature and charming eyes locking onto Brendel’s. “You may not understand these principles, yet you know how to act accordingly because you have a kind and open heart and lofty beliefs and ideals. I act the way I do because I have clear goals and a sense of gain, so you are superior to me. That is why I uniquely admire you among everyone. Do you understand, Sue—Brendel?”
After hearing this, Brendel seemed to ponder deeply. He felt as if he grasped something, yet he also felt like he missed the point. Regardless, her words were the most meaningful he had heard since his crossing. At that moment, he felt acknowledged for what he had done before, saw the direction ahead clearly, and understood his advantages, as if the fog that had long enveloped his spirit was suddenly cleared away, revealing what he should do next and how to go about it.
“Are you asking me to operate the Mingus Crystal, Senior?” Brendel suddenly asked.
Senior Bai Jia nodded. “The fact that you can see character attributes and menus indicates that the old system may still be effective for you. Perhaps you can still operate the Mingus Crystal. However, the Mingus Crystal is far away in the World’s Ring, and I’m not in a hurry for that. I came to find you not for this matter but for something more immediate.”
“Something more immediate?” Brendel suddenly recalled her earlier words: “Are you talking about the Silver Horse Knight’s inheritance, the Dragon Skin Technique, and the Auricle Pattern?”
“Mm, you’re still not strong enough, so what’s most important for you now is to quickly enhance your strength. The war tablet for the Dragon Skin Technique should have fallen into Sir Roslin’s tomb. There are also inheritance scrolls for the Silver Horse Knights in that tomb. Your advancement is as a Frost Earth Guardian; the Silver Horse Knight’s inheritance is not particularly useful for you, but it is important for the White Lion Infantry. This inheritance is the most significant legacy left by Sir Roslin, who refused to pass it to his family due to political struggles, so he brought it into his tomb. This is something only we players know. As for the war tablet for the Dragon Skin Technique, I don’t need to explain it; the Frost Earth Guardian has strong offensive capability but lacks defense. With it, the strength of this profession can be increased by a level.”
The Lady Knight spoke as if recounting treasured knowledge and sighed, “It’s a pity that in the previous life, this tablet was obtained by a wizard. If it had fallen into the hands of any knight profession, you would know how terrifying it could be. Moreover, even so, that wizard became the strongest melee mage by virtue of the Dragon Skin Technique. You should know who that person was.”
Brendel nodded; the battle mage Caditian had been at his peak when he crossed over and was one of the three major mages among players, best at dealing with physical classes. He had long been considering how to acquire this war tablet. In his previous life, he knew the tablet had fallen near Fatan Port, but he was unaware of its exact location. By that time, he had settled in the knightly nation of Greyshus and was familiar with the positions of the tablets located in the Greyshus Heights but knew little about this side of the Empire. The Dragon Skin Technique was so famous that it stuck in his memory, but he had never heard of the “Auricle Pattern” that Bai Jia mentioned.
As for the inheritance scroll of the Silver Horse Knights, he was aware of its existence. As Bai Jia said, it was a remnant of Sir Roslin, later found by a female player named “LAfooh,” who reestablished the Silver Horse Knights and became its first commander. That was during the late first era. In his memory, the Silver Horse Knights only numbered in the hundreds, with both natives and players, headquartered at what is now the Lion-Man’s Fortress, not far from Fatan. However, the Silver Horse Knights only qualified as a middle-to-lower-tier class, not even an advanced profession. The units trained only reached level four, inferior to fully developed White Lion Infantry, which even by today’s standards is considered average, let alone decades into the future.
Brendel was surprised to discover that the Dragon Skin Technique tablet had actually fallen into Sir Roslin’s tomb, and he looked at Bai Jia in astonishment. “Senior, you’ve been keeping an eye on the game all along?”
“Of course,” At the mention of the game, Bai Jia showed a slightly melancholic expression, obviously unable to forget those things from the past. “How could I just let it go? I often browse the forums and have recorded many interesting things.”
Brendel knew that while Senior Bai Jia appeared friendly and approachable, she was actually a very goal-oriented person. When she said she recorded many interesting things, it certainly referred to more than just anecdotes, likely including details like the Dragon Skin Technique war tablet’s specific location. That was significant. He understood that her memory far surpassed his own; the reason he remembered so many things was that he had forgotten even more, after so many years in the game. Most of what he could recall were fairly important matters, similar to how, years later, looking back on past events, you only retain those memories that made a strong impression on you.
However, Senior Bai Jia was different; her memory was truly exceptional. When she said she recorded things instead of merely recalling them, it meant that every small detail had been kept on record. If she recorded it, she certainly would not forget.
Thinking about this, Brendel felt a surge of excitement; if that were the case, the benefits he could gain from various regions would multiply many times over.
“Senior, do you know where Sir Roslin’s tomb is?” he tentatively asked.
Senior Bai Jia shot him a glance. “You don’t believe even the Senior? That tomb is located in a valley outside Fatan Port. I haven’t been to that valley, but I know generally which direction it’s in—”
Brendel thought to himself that was just as he suspected. Unable to contain himself, he stood up and said, “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
“What’s the rush?” Bai Jia lightly curled her fingers around the teacup handle and calmly sat there. “At least wait for me to finish this cup of tea.”
“That is…”
“I know, this is the one you used,” the Lady Knight smiled mysteriously, lifting the cup and taking a gentle sip. “But I don’t mind.”
Seeing the delight in her eyes, Brendel’s heart inexplicably missed a beat.
…
They said that Sir Roslin’s tomb was located in a valley near Fatan Port, but this “nearby” was only relative. To the north of Fatan Port is the barrier on the west side of the Evergreen Corridor, where the Altania Mountain range meets the Ludwig Mountains, creating a scene surrounded by hills. It is also a strategically important place militarily. The journey from Fatan Port to that valley takes the entirety of a day, and Brendel and Bai Jia had spent the night in the wild. In fact, when they reached their destination, it was already the next morning.
On this trip, aside from Senior Bai Jia, he didn’t bring along too many people. Charles had to stay behind to deal with the aftermath of the Witch War, and White Mist wouldn’t allow anyone to leave, so even if the Business Lady wished to take the risk, she couldn’t. Medisa and Juliette were the military officers in the port and therefore couldn’t go either, and the knights from the little princess’s group naturally could not participate. Brendel didn’t want too many Valkyries to be exposed to the outside world as secret weapons. He entrusted Lady Silver Dragon to take care of Delphine and Erluin’s embassy delegation, leaving only Himelam to join the expedition.
With only three people, they didn’t even meet the standard six-person party setup in the game. Helpless, Brendel had to summon Andrigraphis and Medephis. After his strength increased, the Traveler Mage ability had also improved, allowing him five more card slots. He originally planned to use Medephis as the main card to achieve the fourth level; unexpectedly, a small problem occurred during the selection process. When he selected the Medephis vampire card, the Traveler Mage system merged the cards of Medephis and Andrigraphis into one, creating a card called The Twins of the Moonlit Death.
This card presented a profession called the Death Moon Knight, which essentially combines the game’s Dark Knight and Dark Mage, fundamentally a powerful class that occasionally stood in contrast to Medisa’s Knight of France.
However, although the main card of this profession was powerful, there was currently only one skill card, which he transformed through the graveyard:
Glorious Resurrection
Dark 5
[Spell]
When the Knight of France’s Inspiration is on the field, when a creature card affected by the inspiration dies, it transforms into the same-named Spirit Servant that possesses (Anti-White Protection—immune to light-based magic and skills with light attribute descriptions, including beneficial effects, and protective or augmenting effects on opposing creatures).
It will last until the reset moment of the next day.
“Believers don’t die, the faithful do not perish—”
As for the other cards, Brendel found that there was no way to include them in this deck. No matter how he chose to transform, there was no response, leading him to suspect that every profession card setup seemed to be color-inclusive, meaning it could only accept a portion of card colors. Like how the robes of white mages were blue-white-gray, the Knights of France were white-gray, the revered mountain priests could accommodate the most color types, including blue, white, gray, green, and red, while thus far, the Death Moon Knight’s only tested color had been black.
“Rustle—,” Brendel brushed aside a cluster of leaves, fresh morning dew trickling down his arm, yet he took no heed. Looking ahead, a dreamlike green valley unfolded before him. Dense foliage grew along both sides of the mountains, the layered canopies seemed to cover the valley in green moss. With the frost month of the winter beginning, Vaunte’s temperature had already started to drop, as even within the boundaries of the Cruz Empire, one could feel the clear signals of seasonal change. To still see a scene as lush as summer in this season indicated the extraordinary nature of this valley.
“This valley is called the Gray Deer Valley. Not only is it home to Sir Roslin’s tomb, but there should also be remnants of the Temple of the Sun God Perkin. Sir Roslin’s tomb is set within this ruin.” Senior’s voice came from behind, “I just happen to know about Sir Roslin’s life; he was a noble from East Meze, but he was buried in Fatan Port after his death because he did not want to return to his homeland. There are some valuable items in his tomb, but the most precious is still the inheritance of the Silver Horse Knights, which entails not only an inheritance but also the will for inheriting his noble title and lands. Otherwise, how could an obscure player establish a knightly order solely based on an inheritance? This knightly order also has land and a castle, as well as an imperial title.”
“I see.” Brendel realized. However, he knew in his heart that Senior Bai Jia didn’t just happen to learn about this person’s life; she must have specifically investigated him, the tomb, and the valley.
“Unfortunately, this will is of no use to you. The Cruz nobles would never allow you to remain in the Empire. While there are precedents like the Earl of Yan Fortress, who has land within the Empire and is also a noble of Erluin, you are unlikely to follow that path.” She added a bit sadly.
The reason was simple: the Earl of Yan Fortress lacked strength. He might have land within the Empire, but he posed no threat to other nobles. However, Brendel was different; the strength he exhibited now was already quite terrifying. The nobles of the Cruz would not allow such a wolf to enter their midst, making his identity a significant obstacle.
However, it wouldn’t be entirely accurate to say the will was of no use; at least Brendel knew a method to extract significant benefits from this will. At that moment, he suddenly pointed to a location in the valley and said, “Look over there!”
