The Amber Sword volume 3 - Chapter 65

Chapter 65 – King of the Underground (16)
The cheers from the seatings stopped. There was only deafening silence.
Jocah uttered a few gurgling noises and turned around to look at Maher, who also did the same thing to look back at him. Both had disbelief in their eyes.
[[Just who exactly is this man?!]]
No matter how unskilled they were, they easily understood Brendel could not be someone simple.
And at that moment Brendel felt like a tidal wave was crashing in his mind. This was the second time he entered into an indescribable state, and it was only a few weeks after Firburh’s city battle—
The definition of the third keyword of his Element Power seemed to manifest itself in his mind, but there was a paper-thin barrier that prevented him from accessing it.
When he reached out to it, the state of that illusion cracked from a sudden rush of loud cheers, and he found himself back at the coliseum feeling slightly exhausted.
Brendel blinked a few times before he sighed. It was still too early for him. If his levels were higher, he might be able to enter the barrier and move on to the second stage of the Element power.
However, this did not mean that reaching the maximum level of a Gold-ranked status would allow the person to use an Element power.
Understanding the Laws of the Element powers were critical to reaching a higher state, and there were many examples of talented people forever stuck as Gold-rankers despite reaching the status early.
[Sometimes people who are too smart might not be able to see the world for what it is, and having a zen-like mind instead is better. Though luck sometimes plays a part too. If I really can’t break the barrier, I’ll just use the Ancient Glyphs made by those powerful wizards.]
There was always a way for Brendel unlike the people in this world.
He was certain that his Element power was related to space and time, because of his ability to invoke ‘Stasis’ and ‘Stability. He glanced at the borrowed sword and took a double take, as there was a shimmering aura around it, along with green words floating across his retina.
– Element Power (Stage 1):
– +20% Accuracy
– +100% Speed
– +10% Cold damage
[Just like I thought. The Element power has been unsealed from its hidden state, and the difference between low and high ranking Element powers is clear as day. ]
Brendel recalled that a Lightning-based Element power added 20% speed and 30% Lightning damage, and there was a huge difference in comparing it with his current Element Power.
The gamers in the early game were unable to get any Element powers above the ‘Nature’ variations, and were only able to raise the ranking through advancement quests.
The only people capable of that were big guild leaders or pay-to-win gamers.
Brendel really wanted to calm himself by downing himself in a tub of cold water when he realized that his NPC status avoided this issue.
“Open her cage.” He pointed at Jana’s cage when he finally reached Medissa’s side and spoke towards the sky without waiting for the announcer’s question.
“My lord, have you discovered something?” The Elven girl greeted him.
As one who had lived during the War of the Holy Saints, she did not think it was unusual for any young adult to reach a Gold-ranked status regardless of any race. However, she was someone who had experienced the state of unsealing her Element power and asked with concern.
Brendel did not reply but lifted his sword to let her take a look.
“This is……!” Medissa was shocked: “A Time Element Power!”
“What’s wrong?” Brendel raised his eyebrow, as he accurately captured the surprise in her voice: “Isn’t it a common Element Power during your time?”
[It should be a common thing, is it not? Even though it was a rare thing in the game, there were at least a dozen gamers who attained a space-time related Element Power.]
His understanding of the War of the Holy Saints was an era filled with exceptional talents, and even someone like Tuman was found everywhere. (TL: Tuman is a Planeswalker and called the Elemental Emperor during his era.)
“What?” Medissa’s eyes widened in incomprehension: “Even during those years the only person who had it was the leader of the Silver Alliance’s Wizards, Arkasi. He was the creator of the Tower of Stars and Moon, also known as the Last Sage, who had the Time Element Power.”
The Elven girl paused for a moment before she added: “And if I was to go back any earlier, the only other person who had this would be the Dragon of Darkness himself.”
“Hah?” Brendel felt like he needed to dab away the perspiration on his forehead.
Even though he understood the game’s background pretty well, it was still not as detailed as knowing what skills they had. Medissa’s explanation took him by surprise.
[I see. So the game is still a game. The fact that a hundred-odd gamers possessing the rarest of Element Powers— Ha, ha ha……]
Jana felt a little strange when she saw the cage’s door open. She thought Brendel would rescue Scarlett first, but the youth did not bother looking at their direction after releasing her, which meant that it made no difference as to who were saved first.
“Mortal, do you wish to continue challenging your destiny?” The announcer spoke again, interrupting Brendel’s thoughts.
“Yes, I will continue to do so,” Brendel gave his reply.
The youths woke up from their stupor and realized that the youth had the capabilities to rescue them. In fact, he had completely exceeded their expectations. Maher could not believe that a young man around the same age as him was stronger than the commander of the guards, and it was not just a little.
Very quickly, the gate was raised, and every pair of eyes stared into the darkness. The sounds of orderly horses’ trottings could be heard within the shadows, and everyone waited with bated breath.
Brendel narrowed his eyes when he finally saw the first revealed enemy.
It was a knight, but to be more precise, it was a metal doll riding on a puppet horse. Its left hand wielded a round shield, while its right hand carried a lance, while it was surrounded by four different types of sigils floating and revolving around it.
“Type IV Hunter Knight,” Brendel said.
“What’s that?”
“An invention by the Hazell kingdom. Be careful, this thing possesses the peak strength of a Silver-ranker.”
The Hazell kingdom was located in central Vaunte, somewhere to the west of Kirrlutz, and the borders between the two kingdoms were separated by mountains that extended all the way to the clouds.
Their citizens were said to have come from another continent, and not descendants of the sages from the War of the Holy Saints. They believe in the powers of Magic Artificing and held the largest forces of gunners and cannoneers.
There were even tanks and aircrafts amidst their armies.
Kirrlutz frequently warred with Hazell, and despite possessing military might many times more than Aouine, it was unable to gain any advantages over them, which showed how formidable their country was.
The youths watched as thirty metal knights rode out.
“There are so many!” One of them said.
“Isn’t this unfair?” Jocah had completely forgotten about the fact that Brendel had brought Medissa in, which was against the rules.
“This is despicable. They’re fighting with numbers!” Maher ground his teeth as he hissed through them.
“Fighting with numbers?” Brendel managed to hear the youths’ complaints.
The third challenge was thirty times harder than the first if he looked at the numbers, or maybe even more if they had some kind of tactical formation. He looked at the edges of the walls and smiled inwardly before he looked back and pointed at a metallic creature’s lance:
“Be careful of their weapons. There are actually guns installed in them—”
“Guns?” Medissa did not understand.
Brendel suddenly realized that the technology of Magic Artificing was two to three hundred centuries ago, and he quickly explained: “Think of it as a type of crossbow with powerful penetration. It won’t do much harm to Gold-ranked fighters, but it would hurt if we get hit. Make sure you protect your eyes and throat.”
Medissa nodded.
“Also, their four colored sigils hovering around their bodies are activated one at a time. Red represents a line of fire towards their enemies; make sure you pay attention to that as it’s a long-ranged attack. Blue means it’s guarded with a magic ice shield. Green represents an acceleration of speed, while yellow means that it will encase itself in a layer of rock.”
“Understood.” She found it easy to understand Brendel’s explanation but was also curious about the intricate designs of the Hazells. Even though Galbu’s Wizard Craftsmen had powerful designs to their constructs, they did not have such refined details. “Do they use tactics, my lord?”
Both of them had just entered the Gold-ranked status. Handling ten peak Silver-ranked units would be their limit. Even though their extensive battle experience made them far stronger than the normal Gold-ranked fighters, they would definitely find it difficult to face them head-on.
But Brendel shook his head: “Just protect yourself and leave the rest to me.”
Medissa paused in surprise, but Brendel raised his hand and snapped his fingers, and suddenly the light around the coliseum dimmed a little.
Everyone else looked up subconsciously before their bodies stiffened.
Two hundred Wind Spirit Spiders carrying a shining sword on their backs suddenly appeared from magical formations. They glided in the air elegantly, and this scene caused the cheering from the audience to stop.
“Fighting with numbers—” Brendel said, “that’s my line.”