The Dark Dragon was a deadly enemy of the Four Saints in the Holy War, with an especially deep enmity towards the Flame King Gilte, who had lost his nation because of it. Although Brand was puzzled as to why the witch Barbara would say such things, he couldn’t agree this time. Otherwise, he might find himself opposed to the entire Bright World: "The Dark Dragon Odin? I know you witches regard him as the guide of dark destiny, but it has nothing to do with me."
He looked at Barbara and saw that this old witch was still respectfully kneeling on the ground, trembling like a leaf. Brand was slightly taken aback, realizing he’d gone too far. He forgot that the people of this world held great respect for deities and immense power, even if they stood in opposition, and would never speak disrespectfully.
As a player, he couldn’t fully accept this idea; the other half of his reasoning came from Brand’s influence. Thus, when mentioning these names, he naturally exhibited a sense of equality.
This equality meant nothing to him, but to Char and Barbara, it was a great disrespect. This time, the situation was different—old witch Barbara was deeply terrified, and Char had not yet emerged from his previous admiration—this naturalness caused even more confusion in their hearts.
Brand also realized this, shaking his head: "Forget it, think whatever you want. Just don’t get in my way. You stay here until the sun rises."
Barbara pressed her forehead to the ground, not daring to move an inch.
Brand then motioned to the dazed Char, indicating an invisible door under the table and telling him to open it. The young man skeptically moved the table, lifted the carpet, and pressed a button. Sure enough, underneath was a thin layer—by now, Char was no longer surprised by his lord’s foreknowledge, attributing it to inexplicable mysteries of this world.
He found the handle on the side, pulled it hard, revealing a dark, steep staircase leading down.
"Lord, are we going down now?" he asked.
"Of course, what else would you do?"
"Is there nowhere else in Ridenburg to level up?"
"Do you think magic items are just lying around like lettuces for the taking?"
"I mean, the vegetable called莍莴. You know what that is." Brand slapped his forehead, realizing he had misspoken. There were still some differences between Vorn and the world he was familiar with.
"Of course, but coming from you, Lord, it sounds unique. Lettuce—what poetic resonance! The word must have an ancient root, the pronunciation is similar."
Brand couldn’t help but smile at this guy. He knew there were still at least two hidden quests and benefits in Ridenburg—the Underground Church and the famous Wind Tower. However, both had level restrictions akin to gate guardians, unlike Barbara who could be tricked. After much consideration, he had to give up.
His main ambition now was to hone his strength and gather the treasures he knew of, but his time was severely limited. His immediate goal was to become a survivor, not to collect data—as soon as the first Black Rose War ended and before Erune’s internal conflict began, he would have ample time to put his plans into action—pile up on experience and top-notch equipment, becoming one of the strongest forces in Vorn didn’t seem impossible to him.
Brand never thought the strong could do without equipment. As a player, he viewed attributes, equipment, and skills as an essential, inseparable system.
He casually picked up a box, sweeping the elemental crystals into his pouch: twelve wind elements, one fire element, and only two or three blue water elements. These elemental crystals, also called element crystals, were the solidified forms of free elements in the material world. They were originally irregular prismatic crystals but needed to be artificially shaped into pointy, uniform pillars, each containing an energy level of 1.
After looting Barbara’s collection, the two of them, acting like the most dutiful of thieves, took her candles and headed into the passage. The witch’s candle was also a kind of magic item. It could teleport a person to any place light could reach—a secret known only among witches—but of course, Brand also knew.