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Chapter 40: The War of Summer
When the dust settled, Brandon’s eyes immediately fell on a card lying on the ground, roughly the size of his palm. He picked it up and examined it. The front was painted in vibrant colors, depicting a towering tree with intricate, mysterious veins running from its trunk to its canopy. In the top-left corner of the card was the Roman numeral "vii," but there was no elemental attribute crystal symbol. Brandon paused for a moment, but he already knew how to handle such items. He quickly activated his attribute scanner to analyze the card.
The description shifted slightly:
Sacred Grove
(Elven Forbidden Ground vii)
[Basic Land – Forest]
Generates 1 Water Element per week into the Elemental Pool.
Place horizontally: Creates forest terrain.
"My soul returns, to the land of my birth."
"This set is called Elven Forbidden Ground?" Brandon muttered to himself. The card’s description didn’t specify any conditions for activation. Did it simply generate one Water Element per week once added to his deck? But what if he didn’t have an Elemental Pool? And creating forest terrain by placing the card horizontally—well, that was something to consider later. He certainly wasn’t going to experiment here and now.
With the Golden Magic Tree fallen, its magic servants would scatter like birds fleeing a sinking ship, soon withering away without a steady supply of magic energy. Perhaps one of the treants could take root in another forest and continue the ecosystem elsewhere—but that was no longer Brandon’s concern.
What worried him more was the Stone Burrowing Worm below. Once it finished absorbing the lingering Earth Elements and magic energy, it might come looking for trouble. Elemental creatures never truly felt “full.”
Brandon pocketed the card, recalling the earlier resonance of magic energy. He suspected there was another card tied to the Knight deck nearby. Unfortunately, magic energy resonance was a natural phenomenon and couldn’t be repeatedly triggered, or he might have used it to search for the second card. Meanwhile, he instructed Freya and Roma to gather some acorns from the Golden Magic Tree. Mature acorns could be used to craft high-grade magic energy potions, among the most luxurious consumables in the game.
But a single Golden Magic Tree yielded at most seven or eight mature acorns. A permanent solution was out of the question.
Brandon wandered to a spot, brushed aside some leaves, and found a pair of gauntlets entwined around an aerial root. Recognizing their design, he identified them as Protective Gauntlets. In the game, these provided 2 points of protection but required a minimum strength of 2.5 units. As soon as he picked them up, their weight confirmed his guess.
He tossed the gauntlets to Freya to try on, hoping they’d make her a bit tankier. But the ponytailed girl’s hands sank under the weight as soon as she caught them. Too heavy. With a regretful expression, the future Valkyrie handed them back.
"Too bad," Brandon sighed. "If you could wear these along with the Half-Body Armor of the Wind Sovereign, even iron-rank swordsmen would struggle to hurt you."
"I'm sorry."
"No need to apologize. Even among the Guard Unit, I doubt more than a handful could wear them." As he spoke, Brandon slipped the gauntlets onto his own hands. Freya noticed this detail and couldn’t help but feel a jolt of surprise. So Brandon was already on par with the elite members of the Guard Unit?
Of course, she had no idea that even Breyson would pale in comparison to Brandon at this moment.
The trio circled clockwise around the fallen tree canopy. Roma found a nimble short sword that increased Agility by 0.1 units, while Freya discovered an invaluable enchanted ring capable of coating her blade with flames for a small mana cost. Everything else they found was useless junk, drained entirely of magic energy. Brandon used the Elven Blade to peel back the Golden Magic Tree’s bark and retrieved the Heart of the Golden Tree. To his disappointment, due to the three-year time discrepancy between the game and reality, the oak heart was still in its crystalline form.
Still, it was purer than any ordinary tree crystal.
But material was material, and equipment was equipment—a gap that couldn’t be bridged. This unexpected discovery served as a reminder: Brandon couldn’t view the present through the lens of the game’s distant future. After all, this was a real world, where history moved slowly forward.
As Brandon removed the Heart of the Golden Tree, he felt a gentle breeze sweep through the valley—the Golden Magic Tree was truly dead. Looking up, he saw eight silver orbs swiftly emerge from the trunk and merge into his chest.
800 experience points.
Brandon froze for a moment. For a boss-level enemy, 800 XP wasn’t much. But it hit him hard. In this world, experience was tangible—a force that made him stronger with every battle. Unlike in the game, earning XP here filled him with genuine excitement. He could feel himself growing stronger, bit by bit, with each fight.
Lost in thought, he was interrupted by Roma rushing over like a child presenting a treasure. She carefully held out an item for Brandon to examine. All the gear they’d found so far had been appraised by him; with just a glance, he could identify its purpose, origin, activation method, and remaining magic energy. By now, Brandon had become synonymous with omnipotence in Roma’s eyes.
"Brandon, were you looking for this?" she asked, holding up a card.
Brandon followed her gaze. The card was gray-patterned, depicting a tall knight and his robed squire. Its color matched the background of his Holy Sword card. Instantly, Brandon realized this was the card he’d been searching for. He took it and confirmed—yes!
Highland Squire
(Knight ix)
Water Element 1
[Creature – Human/Scholar, Level 8]
When Highland Squire enters the battlefield, grants 1 Prestige per week.
Maintenance Cost: For each day this card remains on the field, pay an additional Water Element 1.
"Courage of the Highlands."
A summoning card. Even Brandon, slow as he sometimes was, understood now. This Highland Squire, a scholar by trade, bore the title "Courage of the Highlands"—undoubtedly referring to the apprentice squires of the Karasu Plateau. For two centuries, Karasu’s wizards and knights had formed alliances.
An 8th-level scholar wasn’t particularly strong, but in the right circumstances, it could be a significant asset. Smiling at Roma, who looked at him expectantly, Brandon said, "Thank you. This will be very useful."
"You're welcome!" Roma beamed.
At that moment, Freya returned from the north, her face clouded with worry. "Brandon, Roma, I think the Stone Burrowing Worm is approaching from the north. Should we avoid it?"
"Stone Burrowing Worm?" Brandon frowned. He had intended to let the group rest, but hadn’t expected the worm to arrive so soon. While it might not necessarily attack them, prudence dictated retreat.
He nodded. "You two go ahead. I’ll set up a distraction to keep it from following."
Stone Burrowing Worms relied on magic energy scent and tremor sense to locate prey. Using scattered magical items could divert its attention. After Freya and Roma left, Brandon placed Bottle No. 5 of Holy Water, punctured at the base with the Lustrous Stinger, into a rocky crevice. After ensuring nothing was overlooked, he retreated westward alone.
He suspected Madara might send a scouting party to investigate the area due to the earlier magic energy resonance. If so, the Stone Burrowing Worm would teach those skeletons a lesson they’d never forget—a fitting revenge for Breyson’s group.
…..
It was early June in the Year of Blossoms and Summer Leaves. History unfolded exactly as Brandon remembered, proceeding steadily toward its inevitable course.
Madara’s secret envoy arrived at Winterclaw Keep, but King Obergu VI of Eruin, following Marquis Kluge’s advice, refused to meet them. Thus, the First Black Rose War quickly entered its second phase.
On the main battlefield, the province of Karasu faced severe threats from Madara’s "Winter Solstice" and "Black Crow" legions. Grand Duke Ougokin even sent messengers pleading for reinforcements, warning that morale might collapse entirely without support.
Farther north, in the mountainous region where the Kelman Range met the sea, an undead army advanced stealthily, lightly equipped.
In the southern Goran-Elsun Province, Vimiel Fortress endured relentless assaults from Enstallone’s forces. Meanwhile, the Buchi region on the flank fell into eerie silence. Earl Pral’s last communication with the 104th Swordsmen’s Regiment stationed in Ridenburg received only this reply: "All is well."
It was June 1st.
At this time, Brandon, Freya, and Roma had crossed through the secret passage beneath the Forbidden Orchard and were racing toward Ridenburg. Along the way, they’d discovered traces of undead activity—small-scale movements, likely scouts heading toward Ridenburg.
This discovery heightened the tension within the group. They were ahead of Madara’s main force, but by how much? No one could say.
At midnight, Brandon led Freya and Roma through the final stretch of Xavier Mountain Pass. Pushing through the jungle, they emerged atop a small hill called Finderk Mountain, south of Ridenburg. The night wind greeted them, and before them stretched the vast Usson Valley, formed by the confluence of the Usson and Wesha Rivers. The lights of Ridenburg glittered like a jewel embedded in the darkness, nestled in the valley miles away, illuminating the riverside.
Freya and Roma held their breaths at the sight. They had imagined what Ridenburg might look like, but never expected the beacon of civilization in the dark to be so breathtakingly beautiful.
However, Roma nudged Brandon’s back and whispered, "Brandon, there’s an army behind us."
"An army?"
"Yeah, look north from here. In the valley we passed this afternoon. See it?"
"That’s over ten miles away! It’s pitch black—how could you possibly see anything? My lady, don’t joke around at a time like this!" Brandon snapped, exasperated.
"But I did see it."
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