The Amber Sword volume 3 - Chapter 210 – Valhalla Ruins

One of Faena’s hands clutched the edge of her skirt and raised it up. The others did not know when she had approached and stood on a pyramid-shaped platform. The pale light from the Fire Seed lit up the thin strands of hair hanging the sides on her face.

“What is this thing!?” She suddenly asked aloud and pointed with her other hand to a certain object.

It was a black metallic staff. Its body had roughly the thickness of an arm and was embedded in a large crystal that was connected to the base of the platform. On top of the staff was a large crystal sphere.

Brendel was certain that this thing did not exist earlier.

He patted Scarlett’s hand. Both he and Orthlyss had guessed the answers to the puzzle that concerned Scarlett. It could be put aside for now since the Dragon’s blood did not pose any real danger, and the threat from the Dragon loli girl Rauze was still faint.

Brendel and the others went over to take a closer look at the staff. There were golden patterns inscribed into the black staff’s body, though these patterns seemed like they were meaningless lines. They resembled the aesthetics of the hall and was a product of the ancient eras. The crystal on the staff’s head was fixed tightly and could not be pried off with strength.

Brendel’s current strength was many times of a normal adult but there was no sign of the crystal loosening. It meant that the crystal was not affixed by physical means but magic.

The youth had already guessed this outcome at the first glance. He took a moment to look at the others before he placed his hand back on the crystal sphere. In the next instant, a web made out of layers of green light came into everyone’s eyes. It quickly extended to reach over a meter to form colorful images filled with mystery.

[Just like I thought.]

A spark streak across Brendel’s mind.

“What is this?” Veronica asked.

“The core of this underground city,” Brendel answered.

“Oh? I know that the Wind Elves’ Fade Fortress has a crystal sphere in it. The wizards from Galbu made them and it allows one to manipulate the outer defense systems. Is it similar to this crystal?”

“Similar, yes, since it’s a replica of this crystal,” Brendel replied.

In the game, the Galbu Wizards crafted many replicas and sold them to players at a million Tor coins. As expected, the imitation’s effectiveness was much weaker than the real deal.

Words formed in Brendel’s retina.

“Stao cu……d oaa s……A’rtee s…… (Request……. Templar…… Interrupted, broken…..)”

“Dum Ru……d oaa s……A’rtee s…… (Dawn Knights…… Cathedral, request….. Interrupted……”

“Pos’ssa……d oaa s……A’rtee s…… (Market area…… Request…….. Interrupted……”

The language of the ancient eras was complex. The shaped designs of the alphabets were prominent twenty thousand years ago, spread throughout the continent at a certain year, but it was eventually phased out and buried. Brendel recognized some of the words because he saw many of the deciphered images in the game.

This language in the game was created by the AI and deemed a miracle by the public. Many players studied the books collected in the various libraries scattered in the kingdoms. The history in the game was tied to many events, and it was greatly enthralling to many players.

More words poured out over Brendel’s eyes like a waterfall, each sentence becoming more and more complicated. The others were looking at the various images that had unrecognizable words hovering over them, but they suddenly rearranged to form a map.

Brendel had issued a command to the system.

“This is a map of the entire underground city!” Veronica’s eyes glinted with a strange light when all the layers of green light stopped moving.

There were three defense lines created across the images that resembled broken gla.s.s. Lines were drawn across them like spiderwebs, and there were also three-dimensional pictures of the various rooms and halls.

[It certainly looks like galaxy maps in the s.p.a.ce-genre games.]

Brendel saw Veronica looking back at him with her green eyes:

“There’s even an image of the city above us…… Is it be possible for the crystal to control the above city?”

Brendel nodded with excitement that could nearly be perceived as agitation, but it was not because of what Veronica asked. It was common knowledge that a city’s Core Crystal was the operating system of the city’s defenses.

What surprised him was that he could recognize the words that the images were showing.

[I see. So this is why Valhalla is perceived as a territory with a ‘legendary’ rating. There are some words that I can’t read since I didn’t read enough ancient texts, but it’s enough for me to understand. Valhalla is a Conceptual Land. The entire city is equipped with an ‘Eternal’ magic system.]

“This ‘Eternal System’ you’re seeing now is a complex magic formation that incorporates Element Powers and Magic Spells for defense. It’s a Domain that’s self-sustaining and not affected by outside forces. Unless you destroy the entire city to bits, the system would continue to function.”

Brendel remarked, though he left out certain information.

[It’s also a powerful form of Spirit magic. The citizens of Valhalla probably preserved their souls back then. This system is capable of collecting Heroic Spirits from other regions. This means that it could retain technology, armaments, and techniques. In short, it’s a data preservation center.]

The youth organized the windows in his retina. He saw Mist Elves, Negans, Dawn Knights, Dark Elves, and a few other races.

The Dawn Knights were Negan warriors who worshipped the sun. They were from the Golden Lineage. Each one was capable of conjuring the morning sunlight to resist the enemies of darkness and capable of casting powerful healing magic, but these Dawn Knights were ultimately wiped out during the war against the Twilight Dragon, and the Negan race disappeared in the annals of history. However, Valhalla was able to preserve these Heroic Spirits.

There were also Angels of Death and Dusk Elves available for recruiting.

[The Dawn Knights are Tier 10, the Death Angels and Dusk Elves are Tier 14. Just a handful of the former would be the equivalent of a medium-sized kingdom’s entire force in the distant past. Each individual Death Angel or Dusk Elf is equivalent to a hero found in the War of the Holy Saints. Indeed, Valhalla is a fitting name as it calls Heroic Spirits to this place—]

Brendel frowned a little. It was strange……

Even if this was a parallel world, what were the chances that the civilizations of this world used terms that resembled his past world?

His thoughts were interrupted by Veronica’s gasp.

“Just how much Mana is required to control the city through the Core Crystal? Doesn’t it mean that the circuits are connected everywhere?”

The youth knew what she was thinking. This was similar to Galbu’s floating city. The Kirrlutz Empire would definitely be interested in this land.

“No, it’s not just the entire city,” he shook his head, “it’s the entire region.”

“””What!?”””

It was not just Veronica who exclaimed. Mephisto and Faena joined in as well. Just exactly how impressive this territory was?

“But you’re going to be disappointed.”

“Why?” Veronica was already tempted. She was still a general of the Kirrlutz Empire, and this was a floating city that was bigger than the Galbu’s.

“Here, try it out for yourself.” Brendel removed his hand from the crystal and invited Veronica to try it out.

The latter looked a little stunned.

“You want me to control this place?” Veronica was curious and puzzled over Brendel’s actions. He was literally inviting her to control this place and fly it over to the Empire.

Brendel merely smiled and nodded.

Veronica did not ask again and placed her hand on the crystal. Her eyebrows first lifted up, then sank quickly. She showed a face of understanding after a few moments.

“What is it, commander?” Faena asked eagerly.

“I see. I was thinking how a wily fox like you would be trusting enough to let me test out the system.”

Even though Veronica did not understand the language, she discovered that it was impossible to activate any of the magic circuits in the city. Perhaps it was because there was severe damage to the circuits, or maybe time had somehow corrupted them despite the system being ‘Eternal’.

“Is it possible to repair them? How bad is the damage?” She asked.

“Completely ruined, and I doubt anyone knows how to repair this place. The only thing that survived is the Fire Seed.”

“”It’s a pity.”” Mephisto echoed Veronica’s words at the same time.

“You’re too devious!” Faena glared at the youth, certain that he would not reveal this information if this place still functioned.

Brendel merely nodded with an emotionless face.

[Indeed, it’s a pity. It’s a legendary place…… But at the same time, there’s a functioning spare Core Crystal underneath this place. It’s too bad you can’t read the language, hahaha—]