Chapter 204 – Lighthouse in the dark

Brendel passed through a warehouse, barracks, and heavily fortified War Room. The passageway had led to various defensive sections.

It was an underground fortress that was even more prepared than any of the Kirrlutz Empire’s castles. Even Dwarven or Elven cities could not compare to this final bulwark built against the Twilight Dragon.

Every inch of the walls was fortified with runes and magic crystals. Pillars in the shape of ancient creatures that were built from precious materials held the ceiling up, and the Crystal Circuits on the ground seemed like modern cables supplying electricity to the various areas.

The tiles over the ground in the various chambers, which was polished till it resembled marble, was remarkably free of dust.

When Brendel lit up the area with his magic, he could not help but tremble. This place was all too familiar in its architecture.

His fingers shook as he sat down on one of the chairs and lit the Light Crystal that was embedded on the round table in the War Room.

The first moment he laid eyes on the chair in front of him, he went over to sit on it as though he was hypnotized. He was so exhausted that he went over in a daze. When he sat in the chair, he recalled the surroundings of a similar ancient War Room shortly before he was transported to this world.

“Hey bro, you’re a warrior? We’re lacking a vanguard for the upcoming fight against Madara’s forces.” A youthful voice echoed in Brendel’s ears.

“Sure thing.” Brendel’s smile was dazzling as he muttered under his breath: “Name’s S—”

The youth suddenly stopped himself from uttering the name.

This world was not his home.

This world resembled the game of his past world to a remarkable extent, but even then the game was just a game. He was just connecting to the latter from his home. His past world was a place where he had fun and was free from worries, though there were strong regrets that he wanted to change.

[…… Ah. I see.]

The emotions and stress from the near deaths and excitement were getting to him. For one moment, he wanted to be free from all the responsibilities in this world and simply go back to his former self who simply enjoyed the game.

[I…… am homesick.]

He had been working towards getting Valhalla almost from the time he came to this world. Many people looked up to him in gratitude as he went around Aouine and saved them in the process, but even more looked at him like they wanted nothing more than to tear him apart. There was no one he could truly confide to, and it was simply because he did not belong to this world.

“Boy, I want you to be honest. Are you really a citizen of Aouine?”

Orthlyss suddenly asked.

“What?” Brendel suddenly broke out of his stupor. “What do you mean?”

[This is bad. Did I give away myself? No, how is it possible that she knows that I came from another world? I don’t think I revealed that much.]

“Just look at the others’ reactions,” Orthlyss could not help but express her disbelief at Brendel’s awful denial.

Scarlett and Sifrid were pacing around the War Room with great wonder. The red-haired girl who usually kept to herself was now a kid like Sifrid. Both girls gushed at the murals and statues that were hovered in the air. The murals formed a strategic map of Valhalla, while the statues of soldiers and mounted knights were pieces to represent armies.

There was even a flying dragon that circled around the map.

Mephisto’s eyes glinted with surprise when he saw this sight. Even Orthlyss was completely drawn to it as well, but she soon realized Brendel’s first reaction was to sit on the near War Table and mumble some incomprehensible words.

It was as if he was all familiar with this place.

Almost as if he belonged to the past era where the strong fought difficult battles.

Orthlyss was shaking her head: “An ordinary person’s reaction is completely different from yours. Just look at the girls. Their eyes are glittering with wonder and awe. You look like you have been here countless times. Even if you read the description of this place in history books, shouldn’t you at least express some kind of scholarly reaction to it? Your insight into certain things even seems to surpass mine. Tell me the truth, are you someone from the Golden Lineage, or the Silver Lineage?”

She was suspecting this point. Why did the Dragon of Darkness give his true Legacy to Brendel?

Brendel showed a stupid face. How did Orthlyss come to this point? He shook his head immediately to deny Orthlyss’s words.

“Of course not. You can trace my origins in Aouine. You clearly know my grandfather, right? Isn’t he the one who possessed the Ring of the Wind Empress?”

“Maybe your family has more secrets than he led me to believe, hmph!” Orthlyss was still puzzled over Brendel’s strange reactions, but his words refuted her thoughts: “Still, it doesn’t matter even if you’re someone from the Golden or Silver Lineage or a descendant from either Lineage. The stronger you are, the more pleased I would be.”

[Becoming a member of the past Lineages? It would mean that I’m straying even further away from the people that around me in this world. I can’t say that I wish for that, though it’s probably a little late with that drop of blood.]

Brendel extinguished the Light Crystal on the War Table and called upon the others to continue moving.

[There are countless things to do in order to save the kingdom. But if the day comes when I am done with everything, should I try to find a way to go back to my original world?]

The group slowly passed through three defense lines. The temperature within this maze-like place continued to rise as they went deeper to the heart of the underground city. If it were not for Brendel, they would have taken a long time to make their way through.

[We’re finally out of the outer defense lines and in the fortress’s living areas.]

They found themselves in a huge cavern split into several districts. Residential houses, markets, temples, and even a palace. It was a grand city with a huge sewage system.

Dwarven cities had similar designs, and it was also common for monsters to reside in the sewers. Players often received quests to subjugate the monsters as they would often venture into the city.

Brendel could not help but think back on his past when he searched the area. Drinkable water was transported around in water channels from a central reservoir in the city’s heart. After walking for another minute, he eventually discovered the artificial water channel that he was looking for.

The group eventually reached a large flooded courtyard with a fountain in its center after following the watercourse. Even after several millennia, water was still gushing out from the fountain, but the stone basin around the fountain had been eroded completely and ended submerging the area with water.

“It’s just like you said, brother Brendel! We found the courtyard!” Sifrid exclaimed in surprise.

Scarlett nearly reached Sifrid’s level of worship. Her lord was a fantastic scholar who seemed to have a limitless amount of knowledge. The other nobles at Brendel’s age were jealous individuals, engrossed in nothing but carnal pleasures in life, while he was on equal footing on incredible people like Mephisto and Veronica.

“Yes,” Brendel nodded quietly, unable to share his companions’ excitement, but kept his brooding to himself.

This courtyard was massive in size, making the youth believe that he was near the sacred halls that housed the Fire Seed. The symbols carved into the nearby walls were familiar as the people of the past believed in Goddess Marsha.

The faith of the continent had never changed.

Mother Marsha continued to bless the land and traditions were kept. There were some minor differences in terms of aesthetics, but it was clear that the symbols represented the Holy Mother.

“I found it. The ramps over there.” Brendel said with a frown.

There were several grand buildings that made the youth pause, but he eventually made a deduction based on the defensive layout of the area. Magic Formations were placed strategically to create powerful barriers that made it tricky to assault this area.

[There’s another secret behind Valhalla. Indeed, the Fire Seed allows the Dark Forest to be stabilized, but it’s not the reason why the guild controlling Valhalla in the game became powerful. Even though it’s extremely unlikely for Mephisto or Veronica to find out, I need to be on my guard.]

It was the biggest hope of saving Aouine and there was no way he would give up this secret.

Brendel continued to lead the way, but Mephisto suddenly pulled the youth back. A dark shadow emerged and Mephisto pulled out his greatsword and slashed at it. A tremendous sound echoed in the area, and Brendel saw that the flying shadow was actually a huge scythe blade with glowing Runes on it.

It was definitely imbued with powerful magic, and getting struck by it would be quite fatal even as one as powerful as Andesha in her dragon form.

[This trap seems like it’s from the civilization after the Twilight Dragon’s era, so it’s actually avoidable for me even if Mephisto didn’t pull me back. But this at least proves he’s on my side.]

Cold sweat broke out of Brendel’s forehead when he realized he was being careless. If this was a trap from the Golden Lineage, then it would not matter if Mephisto pulled him back.

Everyone would have died there.

Still, Mephisto’s action won the youth’s goodwill and the latter nodded at him in gratitude.

“Be careful,” Mephisto said monotonously in response.

“Understood.”

There were indeed more traps along the way. Even though Brendel did not have a Thief profession and did not have the system’s guide to spot one, he was experienced enough to test for them. These traps were created by people from the Silver Lineage and were of no challenge to him. As long as he knew what trap it was, he was able to figure out the range of the affected area.

Mephisto raised an eyebrow at Brendel, but he quickly assumed the youth was someone who had poured a great amount of effort into studying Magic Engineering subjects. Orthlyss who had observed Brendel for a long time was completely baffled at how the youth seemed to excel in every subject. The girls simply acted like it was completely normal for Brendel to be capable of everything.

The Sacred Hall that the group entered was not overly complex in design, neither was it excessively luxurious. The walls were carved from stone, while the ground was fitted with marble tiles and Magic Formations. The four pillars supporting the ceiling were large enough to have a dozen people hug it.

Thirty poles were planted in a circle around a gigantic beacon in the center of the hall. The closer the group walked towards the beacon, the stronger they felt the energy that was pulsing from it

[A ‘Lighthouse’.]

Brendel’s first thought that it was a structure that housed the Fire Seed.

Indeed, when he brought the Light Crystal up, he saw a gigantic crystal that was the size of twenty meters hovering over the beacon. Runes shimmered across it like water waves with the rhythm of a beating heart.

“The Fire Seed,” Brendel remarked amidst the stunned silence from the others.

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