The Amber Sword volume 3 - Chapter 181

Chapter 181 – Valhalla’s gate
Two statues were carved on either side of the gate, both towering nearly a hundred meters high. Brendel and Faena did not even reach the size of their toes.
The statue on the left was the long-beared King of Bitter Frost, Kail, and the statue on the right wielding a massive axe was Kort. Both of them were gods of war in Kirrlutz’s legends.
When they reached the strange gate, Faena noticed a few lines written in angular letters, but she could not read the language.
“Valhalla was created for the Final Battle. May the stars in the sky still light the ground even after a millennium—” Brendel read them aloud.
The Sky Knight used his lance and broke through the clouds during the final battle against the Twilight Dragon, signifying the birth of the second era. An ancient history that was even older than King Gatel and the other three Saints.
Much of this ancient language was lost after the War of the Saints, and Faena could not help but stare at Brendel in astonishment. There was only silence in the valley after the youth spoke, making the atmosphere feel a little mystical.
Brendel’s first thought was to confirm whether the gate was the way to Valhalla. It was a powerful fortress built to fight against the Twilight Dragon, but it was still destroyed like the other Sanctuaries, leaving only a fragmented history that was turned into fables for people to trace.
After marveling at the structure for a while, Brendel thought it was time to contact the Druids as promised. The Druids had given him twelve gemstones which he would use to send his coordinates, and then they would send Sifrid, who was the key to opening the gateway, over to him.
He walked next to the gate and inspected the ground, eventually discovering what he wanted.
An angular rock that jutted out from the ground.
The youth scooped away the dirt around the rock to reveal more of it. He carved a circle on it with Veronica’s sword and placed four green gemstones within the circle, before continuing to carve patterns around them.
Faena found a spot and sat quietly on it. The Lernaia Hydra’s roars which had stopped for a while were starting yet again, and they seemed to be even louder than before. She hugged her knees when she discovered the pebbles around her vibrating.
“Hey, what are you doing now? Why did we stop moving?” She asked a little fearfully.
“Serious business. Make yourself useful and go back to the entrance to keep guard. If Andesha doesn’t appear, continue to stay there and stop bothering me with your stupid questions.”
“What?” Faena was shocked at his rudeness.
This country bumpkin dared to order her?
“You don’t want to? Sure, that’s fine with me. I’ll leave you behind if she comes. That woman must be fuming, and you’re a pretty good decoy even though you’re incompetent. She will definitely torture you thoroughly before killing you,” Brendel was careful in his carving while he spoke in a delighted tone, as though he was describing a joyful event, “ahhh, did I forget to mention that the Tree Shepherds love chopping people’s limbs off and plant their demonic vegetation from hell on the injuries? These plants crave blood for nourishment….. Perhaps you have heard of their ways?”
The blood in Faena’s face was completely drained. She pointed at Brendel with a shaking finger: “Y-y-y-y-you, how could you describe something so terrifying with a smile on your face!”
“But it’s the truth?”
Faena’s rose-like lips quivered, with her tongue seemingly tied up with fear, but she squeezed out her usual unyielding words after a few seconds: “I-I-I’ll return you this favor f-f-for rescuing me—”
She stomped over to the entrance.
Brendel was giggling to himself. It was easy to get her to do what he wanted by prodding her in the right places. His lips started to bunch up together in concentration as he completed the Magic Formation. Space Magic was the most complicated out of all the Magic Formations, and he had discussed the feasibility of this plan with the Great Druid Elder many times.
The final conclusion was to send his coordinates with a Magic Formation, and the people in charge of sending Sifrid by a Teleportation spell were Druid Elders chosen in advance.
The first problem was not difficult. Brendel was an Alchemist, and carving a Magic Formation was not a big problem for him. He easily remembered the sample that was given to him by the Druid Elder and did not even need to refer to it.
The gemstones given to him were natural green agate crystals formed in the Loop of Trade Winds. They were high-quality gemstone capable of forming a Mana Resonance, and were also classified as a low-level Space Element Power. Many Wizards used them as a medium for Transmission Magic.
The distance between his location and the Green Tower was over ten kilometers across the Dark Forest. It was a risky plan that did not guarantee success, but the Druids were prepared for this do-or-die plan, putting all their hope into one basket.
[Well, they do have a backup plan……]
The youth knew that the Druids had sent off a group of their young offsprings and elderly away when the Calamity of Wolves started, in hopes of passing down their Legacy to their future seeds. He did not blame them for not putting all their strength to guard the Green Tower, and instead pretended not to see their plan.
[Honestly, this shouldn’t be as risky as it sounds. The gamers succeeded in getting Valhalla, and I’m pretty sure they used this method to communicate with the Druids. It’s not the first time that this method worked, and definitely not the last time in the game. The problem is with Andesha— She somehow managed to block the communication between me and my summons, though I’m certain that she has to actively cast a magic spell to do so.]
Brendel was the one who proposed this plan. The first time when gamers made use of these gemstones for communication ended up using six of these green agate crystals. Future tests went from a single gemstone to double digits, but statistics eventually proved that four gemstones were the best efficiency to cost, which was at a success rate of ninety-seven percent.
The Druids provided twelve gemstones to Brendel, but the youth planned to use four and pocket the rest. He was certain that Andesha was busy dealing with the Hydra and it was unlikely for her to stop the magic he was going to cast.
When he was finally done drawing the Magic Formation, he pointed Veronica’s sword at the center and chanted loudly: “In the name of the Dragon of Time and Wind, I invoke the Law of Delasityle and beseech the Third and Seventh Constellation, to lend your mystical powers to me and pierce through the skies.”
The youth’s voice was deafening, as though a mysterious force was increasing his volume, and a word echoed throughout the valley—
“Delasi……tyle…….”
Faena hopped into the air like a frightened rabbit. She turned around to see the Magic Formation bursting with green light, moving around the patterns of the Magic Formation like liquid and filling each curved line to its brim.
“What kind of magic is this? You actually managed to get the Dragon of Time and Wind to aid you? Why would the Divine Dragon Delasityle grant you its powers?!”
“It’s a Space Magic spell. Also, I did not cast it. Rather, it’s an invoked Law that sends out coordinates.”
Brendel kindly explained to her. He looked up and saw four green lines moving behind the Wall of Clouds. A gigantic wheel was being pulled at its edge, a sign of the Law being invoked.
“Space Magic? But Delasityle is the Dragon of Time and Wind, why does it have anything to do with Space Magic……” Faena was unable to recall what Divine Being was required to call out for invoking Space Magic.
It was advanced magic that was beyond her level.
“Hah? All spells related to Space Magic need the permission from the Dragon of Time and Wind. Don’t you know that?”
“O-o-of course I know it, I was just surprised by you casting a high-level spell!” Her face was red from embarrassment and anger.
“Ohhh?” Brendel dragged his tone into a mocking one.
The girl’s face flushed even deeper and she snapped: “Fine, why does invoking a Space Magic require the permission of the Dragon of Time and Wind?”
“Lady, has no one ever tell you how rotten your temper is?” Brendel rolled his eyes and sighed: “Space and Time are one and the same; it’s just that they exist in different dimensions.”
Brendel quoted the theory of the Archmage, William Pestel. The Space Magic that existed in this current generation was mostly due to his efforts, and legends stated that no one had researched on the topic more deeply that he did.
An old voice answered in great surprise as soon as Brendel finished speaking:
“What? Young man, where did you hear these words from?”
Brendel and Faena felt a jolt to their spines, looking to the source of the voice at the same time.
But there was nothing there.
Brendel frowned, making a guess that it was a member of Galbu’s Wizards, and he asked:
“Are you a member of the Silver Alliance? Why do you not show yourself?”
The elderly voice was turned into a chain of hearty laughter: “Young man, your mind works really fast. Though goading an old man at my age isn’t going to work well.”
However, an elderly man wearing long silver robes that reached the ground appeared before Brendel’s eyes.
William Pestle, one of the twelve leaders of Galbu’s Wizards, removed his invisibility spell and showed himself.
He was over four hundred years old, his fame not only limited to Galbu’s Wizards but also well known amongst the human mortals.
A poet who went by the name Colgo, wrote a book called ‘About the story of an Archmagi by Colgo, and sponsored by Bista Merchants’. Bista was a considerably famous merchant near Ampere Seale. Natives knew that some of the merchants were eccentric, and it was because of this strange merchant, that the stories of William Pestle became known to the common people.
Brendel looked at the old man with a grimace.
Given the latter’s personality, he might have actually sought a copyright fee from Colgo and Bista….. Dealing with him was likely to be troublesome.
William showed a little surprise in his eyes when he saw Brendel looking unhappily at him. The youth clearly knew who he was.
“How strange, you even managed to recognize me?”
“Surely there are many who know your names. The Lord of Kanagi, one of the Twelve Silver Circle Archmagi, the respected leader of the wizards?”
“To think that I would have these many nicknames,” the elderly man laughed, “but knowing my name is one thing, to recognize me is another. How quaint, that you even know that Time and Space Magic are one and the same—”
William squinted his eyes.
The School of Silver was founded by him, but it was still at an immature state on the ideas of Time and Space. Not many acknowledged his theory, and even a few of his old friends disagreed with him. But this young man declared the same hypothesis with confidence, and it made William more and more interested in him.
“What, you’re—” Faena could not believe her ears and stared at William with a pair of incredulous eyes. She was at a loss for words.
“My, my, even the little girl knows of my name, it is my pleasure to meet you.”
[What is this old man doing here? Even though I know that the wizards from Galbu are here, I didn’t think it would be one of their leaders. This is bad, he’s probably as powerful as Andesha, and I have no idea what he wants.]
Brendel’s eyebrows could not but lift up.
“Do not worry, young man. I’m here because I’m merely curious.” William’s smile became bigger, acting as though he could see through the youth’s worries.