The Amber Sword

“Pfff—” Faena suddenly snorted with laughter when she saw his appearance.

“Is it very funny?” Brendel’s tone was polite and pleasant.

“Hmph. The future Duchess of Flowers laughs at you. Do you think you can stop me?”

“I see. Hmm, I wonder whose claws belong to. They seem to shake every time when there’s a noise.” Brendel looked at his left hand, shook his head, and sighed.

Faena withdrew her hand with lightning speed, her ears blushing: “H-h-how dare you! Mocking my reactions—”

“What? Why can’t I talk about the scared little baby princess?”

Faena clenched her fist and her eyes were spewing out flames. She glared at Brendel as though she wanted to eat him alive, before stomping on her foot and snarled:

“Just you wait. I’ll complain to General Veronica.”

“Complain? What will you say?”

Faena blinked blankly a few times before she stuttered with her cheeks turning red: “I..... I’ll say that you took advantage of me.”

[This crazy girl......]

Brendel’s jaws dropped. He really did not think she would utter these words out. It felt like he was being punched in the guts and lost his breath.

“Are you really going to say that?”

“Idiot, I obviously won’t do that!” Faena scoffed lightly: “My reputation will be damaged if I say that a country bumpkin took advantage of me!”

Brendel fell into silence.

[This witless and chestless woman— Never mind about Veronica, if she mentions anything to the Duke of Flowers, shit— would he send out his Pegasus Knights after me?]

The youth’s eyes went back to the box after determining there was nothing he could do to stop her. When he pulled off its cover, he discovered that it had a space deeper than what it could possibly hold from the outside.

He tugged at the robe that was neatly folded in the box without holding back his strength, pulling it out as though there was no end. He eventually discovered that it was actually larger than the box.

[Regardless of how awesome this thing is, it’s no different from a curtain if I don’t have the right words to activate it. No, it’s even worse since it’s uglier because it’s so plain. Even a curtain is better since it provides shade for us.]

He shook the robe, trying to see if there was any reaction to it. It was a waste to discard it, yet it was also a nuisance to carry it. Ultimately, his greed won out and he tucked it under his arm and moved off. He left the box behind as it was too unwieldy.

[The gamers’ post stated they walked for more than ten minutes in the darkness. They thought there was a bug since they could not find an end to the cavern, and nearly attempted to forcefully retire by killing themselves, before suddenly finding themselves in the Loop of Trade Winds’s heart. I’ll probably find myself in the same situation.]

He looked upwards. The ‘bridges’ were starting to converge into one point. The more they climbed, the more apparent it was. After calculating the remaining time he had, he led Sifrid and Faena forward slowly. Their footsteps were clear and distinct, but they echoed softly in the enclosed environment, sounding as though someone was following behind them.

It made Faena nervous, and she looked behind more than once, only to see nothing but darkness in the distance. She thought of following Brendel closely, but she would always stop when she got too close, recalling his looks of ridicule.

Brendel finally felt there was a change in the air. It was close to nearly thirty minutes.

[Finally, I feel the wind. The written walkthrough of the gamers’ is unreliable as heck— or this place is actually screwing with my senses. They most likely recorded the gameplay and got the timing down after all.]

It took a few more minutes before Brendel came to another gate made out of stone, though it was much smaller and its size was approximately a tenth of the previous gate. When he approached it, the doors started to open outwards, causing light to shine in and dust to fall across the ground.

The youth took the time to marvel the intricate patterns on the doors as they opened slowly, applauding the gate’s modern-like technology to sense visitors.

The scenery outside slowly revealed itself and stunned the group with shocked gasps.

At first, the light rays were like sharp blades, cutting into the darkness and the group’s eyes that had gotten accustomed to the darkness. They eventually got used to the light, walked out of the cavern, and started to admire the scenery before them.

They were now standing on top of the mountain range located within the Loop of Trade Winds’s heart. Spiraling patterns of wind and mist could be seen below, and one could instinctively understand how the smooth cliffs towering several hundred meters high were formed. It was unclear if anyone had set foot into this place for the past few millenniums.

Brendel peered into the sky. The sun was visible and unhindered by the Wall of Clouds, and he knew that they had reached their destination. The entire area around the stone gate was untainted by the Chaos and unaffected by the violent winds. The Mana Wave did not seem to even reach this place, and there was mostly tranquil silence, broken only by the flock of birds chirping in the air.

It was almost like a paradise that could only be found in books.

Brendel’s attention was suddenly drawn away by something. There was a tree with such an epic size that its crown eventually disappeared into the blue sky. The youth initially was unable to judge what the tree was, and he had to follow the mossy roots that spread across the mountain range’s ground to be sure of it.

[The...... World Tree?]

It was a legendary golden tree described in books. The Druids’ Circle of Skies was once called the Circle of Worlds in the past, and they cared for a World Tree for generations and lived around it.

The wars of that era eventually destroyed the World Tree and the Tower of Babel, and from then onwards, the Druids were split into two factions; The Circle of Skies, and the Tree Shepherds.

[There isn’t any documentation about a World Tree still existing in this world. Interesting, it doesn’t have a golden hue described in the legends, but more of a normal tree. The moss and odd branches and leaves near the trunk have a vivid green color.]

His eyes went to the top of the tree again. The branches that he could see were spreading out outwards before ending in a dome-like shape. One of the large branches was seemingly on fire, while another covered in ice, and another had a rainbow over it.

“It sort of resembles Yggdrasil from Earth instead......” Brendel could not help but mutter to himself.

“Is this the World Tree in the legends, brother Brendel?” Sifrid spoke in awe.

Brendel nodded. He suddenly realized the ‘bridges’ they were walking on were probably the roots of this tree. The forest before him was lush and filled with birds, untainted by human activity.

[Hmm. The game’s Valhalla was eventually destroyed after Aouine was lost. I heard it went out in a sea of flames, such madness.]

“B-Brendel?” Faena suddenly spoke in surprise. She nearly bit her tongue and had to pull her cheeks when she spotted something.

“Huh?” Brendel spoke absentmindedly.

“The tree—” She pointed at it.

“Yes, the tree is going to be all burned up in the end?”

“What are you talking about!” Faena exclaimed: “I’m telling you to look at the center of the tree!”

Brendel finally spotted a city built in the branches’ outer area, though it might be more accurate to describe it as a huge palace surrounded by mist and lightning. It looked grand enough for ancient deities and spirits to live there.

“Valhalla......” Brendel muttered.

“I heard you say that name to the wizard earlier. Valhalla is that city?” Faena asked.

But they were interrupted by another person’s voice not far away from them:

“Chaos above, the World Tree!”

It was Andesha’s voice.

Brendel and Faena’s faces paled.