CHAPTER 112.

Amber felt excited for the fight that was about to happen. All that was left was for it to be arranged, considering there were so many people getting them on the same page would take some time, or so she thought.

Remmel raised his hand and began to speak at a surprisingly normal volume.

“Everyone,” he began, and seemingly they all turned to him. “Amber, the Hero of Cytel is here, and she will spar all of you at once. Every single one of you. She said you’re all insignificant maggots to her, so prove her wrong.”

Amber blinked as an angry atmosphere immediately enveloped the field. “What?”

“Did that bitch really say that?!” one called.

“Do you really think you can take all of us at once?” another said in anger.

“I’ma make you regret that, girly,” and a different one glared at her.

In an instant, a myriad of hateful eyes were on her. Remmel had escalated the situation from 0 to a 100 with just a few words, and before Amber could stop him, he finished his statement.

“The spar starts now.”

Marking his declaration every single figure rushed in her direction.

“Consider it payback for earlier,” Remmel said in a whisper before vanishing.

For a very brief moment Amber was confused, but soon that confusion turned into annoyance. It seemed that Remmel was petty. However, she also knew how to hold a grudge, and Amber was well aware of what she wanted to do now.

I’m going to kick his ass⁠.

Three assassins teleported behind her and stabbed, Amber in return simply increased all of her attributes as much as they could go and the daggers⁠— barely nicked her skin, unable to go further. She summoned the Cursewelder, and before they could even react; she swiped with the blunt side.

The three assassins went flying, breaking through a part of the war room before they were completely knocked out. Then, she turned to the field where people were rushing towards her.

I really should end this as soon as possible. Not only was the prospect exciting ⁠— to see how fast she could do it ⁠— it also helped her take out her emotions. And so, with a grin, Amber used the 3rd Rank of Quick Dash and teleported onto the field.

“You cocky bitch!” a mage screamed, and a moment later she was blasted with purple light.

They were curses. Amber immediately used Quick Dash to arrive in front of him as his eyes widened in shock and horror.

“Piece of advice, don’t use curses against a Cursebearer.” She headbutted.

The mage was knocked out, his body being buried in the ground with an explosion of earth. Then, just as she was turning, five warriors arrived, slashing at her. Surprisingly, none of them were in the way of the others, but it still didn’t matter because⁠—

Wind Cleave.

She slashed at their legs, and the invisible cut immediately amputated almost a dozen limbs as screams resounded. She then turned, and the mages in the distance slashed again, this time using Fulminating Slash.

“Oi, isn’t she a warrior?!”

“Shit⁠—”

And the attack hit, half of them managed to get away and the other half were blasted by the flames as they screamed. Of course, they wouldn’t be dying, she had more than enough control on her skills at this point after all. She turned and paused, sensing a lack of something.

Huh.

She dodged an assassin, and broke his leg with a kick. Another tried to come for her throat but she blocked it with the Cursewelder before stomping and breaking his foot. However, Amber wasn’t paying attention to that, but the people she had defeated were… missing?

She expanded her senses and she noticed it. Healers that were cloaked, their presences were faint but it didn’t matter. She used the 3rd Rank of Quick Dash, landing in front of a Healer that was tending to the injured. Their eyes widened and Amber smiled.

“Probably better to not heal someone mid battle.” And she kicked.

They went flying and with an explosion of dust, they took out a few warriors. But Amber shook her head, as more assassins came for her. Everyone was genuinely aiming to hurt her, to critically wound her, and that annoyed her a bit because it was all due to a misunderstanding.

“So y’all know, Remmel made that shit up, I have never trash talked the Obsidian Rose or its members,” she called, raising her voice as it echoed for at least fifty people to hear.

And in response she got…

“Liar!”

“She’s just trying to save her neck!”

“Make her regret it!”

More anger directed at her.

* * *

Remmel smirked. Amber was a terrifying thing, she truly was. To him, her growth made little to no sense, but then again she had been a notable name ever since she became known as the Demonkiller of Laria. And ever since then, her name had basically skyrocketed in the underground circles.

She was an individual that drew a lot of interest, but also wariness. Remmel couldn’t really understand where the wariness part came from, not until recently. It wasn’t until she leveled almost twenty times since their last meeting that he felt different towards her.

Before he saw her as a minion, as someone to be used and exploited, perhaps she was a bright star but she was sure to fizzle out in his eyes. However, that had recently changed. And now, he felt different. He felt… unsettled by her mere existence. The idea that someone could grow so fast startled him.

When he met her, he had her under control, but slowly the leash was coming off, and once it did…

“Ya seem to be deep in thought,” a rather new familiar female voice commented.

Remmel turned and saw the white mage. The woman dressed in fully white robes that were now stained in his blood, and she was also a member of the Arcane Council and Amber’s newest companion. She was a strange one, but he didn’t actually dislike her, or like her for that matter.

“Indeed,” he agreed before turning to the massacre that was occurring on the battlefield. “Amber is a terrifying individual.”

“And yet you pissed her off, do ya have a death wish?” she asked.

He laughed. “No, I’m just a petty asshole. I can’t let her one up me while I'm still in control.”

“Eh, is that so?” Frei wondered, stepping next to him and looking at the battlefield. “This isn’t meant to diss ya, but y’know that if you wanted to kill her you’d have to fight her to the death at this point right?”

He frowned but said nothing. That was indeed the truth he was fearful to face. In the end, he clicked his tongue.

“Just let me have fun.”

“Sure-thing pal.”

And with that, silence came.

The two watched as Amber tore through the battlefield, disposing of the trainees of the Obsidian Rose as if they were nothing but flies. She would kick, headbutt, swipe and occasionally even cut their limbs. Yet she never used curses, she never used anything else. She was holding back all the way, all while embarrassing the future elites of the organization.

It really is unbelievable…

It was like watching a city falling against a monster raid, except there was only a single monster that was unkillable. Remmel frowned and then to his surprise, one of the highest leveled warriors managed to stab her⁠— his sword was driven into her lungs. So that’s her limit⁠— and the warrior was slammed as she removed the sword, brushing off the attack.

Remmel’s eyes went wide as even the trainees began to falter. And that’s when he paused.

Wait a second, how is she so strong at level 183? She was strong enough to survive him, someone who was above level 250. That doesn’t make sense does it…? What world did a class and Legacy Branch combination allow for such a disparity to exist between other really good classes and Legacy Branch combinations?

Huuuuh…? Even if Amber had access to classes related to the Primordial Spirits it still didn’t make sense.

He stared at Amber who seemed to be looking for him which made him smile.

Unfortunately, you won’t be finding me.

She may have been a monster, but she wasn’t quite there yet. But even then, he felt excited to see what she would do.

* * *

He’s nowhere to be seen… Amber looked around, she had been trying to find Remmel on the side this entire time, but she hadn’t been able to sense him, even while going near the buildings. Finally, her eyes landed on the scared trainees. And now they’re just waiting for me to make a move…

At this point, she wanted to find the assassin more than anything. And after thinking about it, she had the perfect idea to draw him out.

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She smirked as she felt the Essence in her core.

* * *

Remmel heard the member of the council chuckle next to him.

“Did you see something?” he asked, confused.

She smiled, “At this point, I’ve kinda been able to sense things from hanging with Amber for so long, just slightly,” she said simply. “And well, I can just tell that something fun is about to happen.”

Remmel blinked. “What are you even talking about?”

“Look.” Frei gestured.

He turned and saw as Amber began to conjure the all too familiar blue flames, which turned into a bow and a flaming arrow was quickly made except. It was stronger. So much stronger than the last one he had seen. And its strength was more than what he had ever imagined.

“Isn’t this too much? I told her not to kill them… at this rate⁠—”

“You’ll have to intervene,” Frei said simply. “Otherwise she may actually kill ‘em.”

Remmel frowned. “There’s no way⁠—”

“Do you want to call her bluff?” She interrupted.

He saw the arrow begin to shine brighter, and while Amber didn’t come across as a psychopath, he wasn’t too sure. People changed. So if she had undergone some kind of transformation in the time he had last seen her…

“Fuck!”

Remmel cursed and he immediately used multiple skills, allowing him to reach Amber in an instant, and when he did. She smirked, and at that moment, he realized what her plan was.

So you aren’t going to tolerate my bullshit anymore⁠— And she punched⁠.

Remmel bent, he folded as his ribs practically snapped, and then he felt burning on his stomach before he… exploded. In a single moment, he was launched as the world blurred around him, and a moment later he hit a building with an explosion of fire.

He coughed up blood, as the smoldering flames hugged his surroundings, and as he regenerated he couldn’t help but laugh, all while still coughing in a bloody fit.

* * *

Amber smiled as she saw the distant house collapse. She wasn’t trying to kill Remmel, but it was most definitely payback for the asshole stunt he had pulled. She was done trying to tolerate his bullshit. That said, the trainees immediately cried for their leader and most rushed in the direction.

Following that, a person appeared next to her. A mage in white and bloodied robes.

“Whew, you really got him good.” She whistled. “I knew it was a good idea to goad him to save his subordinates.”

“You did that?” Amber asked Frei.

“Yep, told him to not call your bluff.” She laughed.

At that, Amber smiled. “Thank you.”

It was satisfying to know that Frei had helped her get the small and petty revenge she wanted. And while for some people it was weird to call it petty, for Amber, it truly was petty. Remmel was a high level individual, this probably wasn’t all that much to him.

“Question, will ya beat my ass too once you get strong enough?” Frei asked.

Amber smirked. “Maybe.”

“That’ll be fun, we can spar sometime,” she said simply. “Just not any time soon.”

“Hmhm.” Amber didn’t feel like sparing her either. “By the way, do you think you can help me train my resistances when we leave again?”

Frei blinked. “You mean like attack you?”

“Yeah I guess, but more like damaging me since I won’t be fighting back.”

Frei shifted. “Y’know, this’ll be the first time I’m not on the receiving end, but sure I’ll do that for ya.”

Huh.

And at that moment, Remmel was pulled out of the rubble as his bones cracked back into place. He looked over at her and, to her surprise, gave a thumbs up.

“Guess he’s a masochist,” she said simply.

Amber shook her head and turned to the field that had been torn asunder. Interestingly enough she hadn’t seen Aveline amongst the people she had been fighting. But she supposed that it didn’t matter all that much.

“Well, let’s just go back to the others and wait for Remmel so we can leave,” Amber said.

“Sure.” Frei tapped her shoulder and a moment later they appeared near the war room.

Asil and Cecile were standing nearby, looking over at the field with some confusion.

“Amber really is quite terrifying…” the merchant admitted.

“Hmhm, she’s come so far since i met her,” Asil said like a proud dad.

And Amber coughed as the two people got startled.

“When did you get here?” Cecile asked. “Did you hear⁠—”

“I didn’t,” Amber sighed. “Frei brought me just now. We’re going to depart after Remmel comes back. Mainly because I don’t want to stay around.”

“Why not?” Frei asked.

Amber glanced at her. “I just fought them, what if someone tries to kill me in my sleep because they still hate me for no reason?”

“If they try that I’ll just kill them,” she said simply.

Amber shook her head. “Anyway, I also want to get to the forest soon. I’m tired of traveling.”

At that, she received nods from her companions, and a moment later a presence arrived behind her. Amber turned only to see a bloodied Remmel.

“So do I get a: sorry I went too far?” he asked casually.

“No. You didn’t apologize earlier either,” Amber answered matter-of-factly.

“Fair.” He nodded. “I overheard you; I’m fine with departing now. I just need to gather some things and we can leave in an hour or so. As far as the details of the mission or your requests for information, we can handle it after the fact.”

“Alright.”

And with that, the time of their departure was arranged.

* * *

Amber didn’t really care to explore the secret base or anything, but at Frei’s insistence she ended up being dragged along. And for the most part, she saw resting quarters and bathrooms, there were also a multitude of armories and what seemed to be like a sauna or something. There were, of course, places that were off-limits that Frei wanted to sneak into, but Amber told her not to.

Towards the end of the hour, Amber had seen a good part of the base, and aside from the sheer scale of it, it didn’t have anything she found particularly interesting. That said she did see the same trainees rebuilding everything she had destroyed, which did interest her. There had also been a cafeteria where they grabbed something to eat.

And finally, they found themselves at the field with some mages as well as Aveline and Remmel.

“Alright, I’ll be bringing Aveline along, it’s a non-negotiable,” he said. “And your horses are being kept by us, since we’ll be using a different kind of horse.”

Amber nodded, she didn’t really care about any of those factors and it seemed that nobody else did given the lack of reactions.

“That’s fine,” she said, finally. “That said, why are we standing here and not walking out?”

She looked at the surroundings. They were pretty much in the middle of the large field. There was no exit in sight either.

At her question, Remmel smirked, “We can’t walk out, for you see my dearest Amber, this entire base is underground.”

Amber blinked. “Huh, what?”

“Pretty cool right?” He pointed at the sky. “All illusion magic, set up by the highest esteemed leaders of our organization.”

Amber found herself staring at the sky in confusion and surprise. She had only experienced this type of realism with the Primordial Spirits as far as illusions went in the past.

“Neat,” Frei said looking up.

“That’s right, admire the glorious rose once more.”

“Let’s just go,” Asil said.

Remmel shook his head and turned to the mages in the surroundings, before nodding. They were once more enveloped by light, and just like before, they were teleported with a flash of light. And they ended in the forest from before. Now, however, the sun was setting.

Remmel turned to the mages.

“Thank you all for your hard work, go report to Nerisa, she is in charge while I’m gone.”

They nodded and left shortly after. Then he turned back to all of them.

“Shall we go on a road trip then?”

Amber shook her head and began walking away, she didn’t feel like indulging the man.

The group walked through the forest and quickly returned to the road, which seemed as empty as they left it. And upon reaching it, Remmel extended his hand and with a flash of light a rather unassuming carriage appeared. One that already had horses, but the horses looked uncanny. The carriage itself looked normal.

“Impressive right?” Remmel asked. “Those horses are magical constructs, so they can fit in a storage ring. They are from the Continent of Magic, Arveil.”

“Neat,” Frei said, approaching the carriage and opening the door before blinking. “Double neat.”

“And there are space magic enchantments inside the carriage too, so it’ll fit all of us,” he said.

Frei stepped inside and everyone followed after, Cecile seemed a bit surprised but didn’t say much. Asil didn’t react, nor did Aveline or Remmel but Amber herself paused.

The carriage was more like a small train wagon with multiple rows of seats, and they all looked quite comfortable. Remmel smiled at her.

“Make yourself at home, you had a nice reaction there.”

Amber wanted to get angry at that, but in all honesty she was awed. There were storage rings, so it made sense that a room could be compacted, but it still impressed her. Still, she didn’t stay at the entrance for that long, instead she went to the back and sat alone. It was her preferred spot.

“How much does this carriage cost?” Cecile asked. “Ten thousand gold?”

Remmel smirked. “Close, fifteen.”

“Oh I see.”

Amber nodded. She had a decent amount of gold, but she definitely wasn’t rich in comparison to the high class, and this was a good reminder of that.

“Alright, let’s go then.” Remmel clapped his hands twice and⁠— the horses began to gallop. “No need for a coachman either.”

“It’s quite nice,” Cecile admitted. “I’ve been wanting to visit Arveil for sometime.”

“It does have great goods,” Remmel said.

And a conversation began between the merchant and the assassin, but Amber tuned it out of her mind. Instead, deciding to look out of the window, the carriage was comfortable. She sank on her seat, until footsteps came her way, and to her surprise it was none other than Aveline.

“Mind if I…” she gestured at the empty space next to her.

Amber raised her brow, slightly taken aback. “Sure?”

Aveline hesitantly nodded and then sat down leaving a fair amount of space between herself and Amber. But Amber was still confused. What does she want?

“Remmel says I should try being your friend,” she said hesitantly.

Amber raised her brow. “You know you don’t have to listen to that asshole, right?”

“I know…” She looked down. “I think I’m just going along with it because I’ll feel better about myself. If I befriend you, I’d have some form of redemption, you know?”

Amber listened and a sigh left her. “I don’t hate you, if that’s what you’re worried about. Nor do I have hard feelings against you. Why do you want redemption? There’s nothing to redeem.”

At that there was a silence as Amber waited for the ex-noble’s reply. Which came with a sigh.

“I want to come to terms with my failure, Amber.” She let the statement simmer before continuing. “And admittedly, now saying it outloud, I think it’s selfish of me to try to deal with that by befriending you.”

“It is.” Amber agreed.

“Sorry for that,” she said after a moment. “I do hope we can be friends, but I’m not going to force it. And as for the weight of my mistakes…”

She stood up.

“Well, as they say: ‘life only moves forward’.” she said. “Ultimately, I have a lifetime to learn. Sorry for what I did again.”

She turned around and began to walk away.

“You aren’t a bad person Aveline,” Amber said. “Your ideals are just too rigid. So they suck.”

A chuckle left the ex-noble. “I’m working on them. Thank you for your comfort.”

With that, their conversation ended and Amber didn’t think too much about it as the journey continued.

And for the next two weeks, lots of things happened, first was Frei helped her train her resistances for at the very least eight hours a day. Aveline occasionally tried to make conversation with her and also Aveline kept getting teased and brought around by Frei for some reason.

By the end of the last week, Amber felt exhausted from pain, but also glad from the results she had achieved.

[Toxin Resistance has leveled up from 4th Rank level 8 to 4th Rank level 10.]

[Elemental Resistance has leveled up from 4th Rank level 6 to 4th Rank level 10.]

[Physical Resistance has leveled up from 4th Rank level 7 to 4th Rank level 10.]

[Magical Resistance has leveled up from 4th Rank level 7 to 4th Rank level 10.]

Apparently forcing the training was a whole lot more inefficient than fighting actual enemies, but Amber couldn’t remember if she had already known that or not. Either way, she was excited because 5th Rank Resistances were just around the corner.

And at the end of the day, Frei raised her head, standing up and heading to the front.

Amber blinked and looked out of the window only to see an expanse of forest, one with gigantic trees that stood at hundreds of meters tall. And it was like that as far as they could see.

“We’ve arrived at the Sacred Forest,” Frei said simply.

Asil smiled. “After so long…”

And Amber also felt relief.

Fucking finally.