CHAPTER 137.

Amber was glad. Not for any particular reason. Just glad. She was glad to be alive and grateful that she had gotten to experience Vir.

Back on Earth her life was… okay. It didn't suck too much or anything, in fact she considered it kind of average. She was a college student, albeit with very good grades, she was an athlete, albeit a very good one, and she had some debt, albeit not a lot.

To some that would have been great or in fact amazing, but to her it seemed relatively average. Sure she had those things, but her parents were out of the picture. She didn't have familiar support at all, and not many friends. So in a sense, just like any other average person she had things she had gotten lucky with and things she had gotten unlucky with. And that was why she considered her life average.

She wasn't particularly happy, nor particularly content, she was fine with her life. Finding ways to push her limits was difficult. It had always been.

But now, that wasn't her life anymore. Instead, she was in the world of Vir, a world that in many ways was worse than Earth. Death rates were high, famine was probably common, and life expectancy was either early 20s or hundreds of years. It was a varied world to set the least. And it lacked certain technological advancements like phones and the internet, having magic in place.

Many people of Earth would have felt quite trapped in Vir, even with the almighty System and the boons it offered. But not her.

For her Vir was…

Well, it was a turning point in her life. Here, her efforts were rewarded appropriately, unlike Earth where the effort was extreme for little return. And she enjoyed that. No, she loved it. While she understood that this lifestyle wasn’t for everyone in Vir, just like Earth’s lifestyle wasn’t for her, she was still glad that this world existed.

After all, it allowed her to be truly free.

There was also always the dopamine inducing thought of how would her relatives or acquaintances would react to her current status. The answer was of course ⁠— at this point anyway ⁠— fear. She was powerful.

Even for the residents of Vir she was an alien to a lot of them, after all, the situation that was unfolding before her very eyes was a prime example of that.

“I-I’ll do my best, M-Miss Amber.”

“Amber is fine,” she sighed.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the smith was deadly afraid of her. And the reason was rather simple; he had seen her battle. While she did try to ease his concerns that seemed to make his anxiety worse, so in the end she gave up.

Maybe I should’ve gotten an elven smith to help out instead. That was one more regret to pile onto her list in terms of the Sacred Forest. But it didn’t matter too much now.

“E-Esteemed warrior, is there anything more than we can do for you?” the tinkerer asked.

Amber turned and saw the whole group of refugees staring at her in fear. She didn’t really know how she felt about that, but for now it didn’t really matter.

“Actually, there is,” she said after a moment, making the man flinch. “The mercenaries sent to rescue you seem to be injured, so if you all could take them back to the village it would be great.”

At that, the two men that heard her blinked but hurriedly nodded. And it only made sense, her request was more than reasonable after all.

And so, after telling them that they could go ⁠— which felt incredibly awkward for her ⁠— she was left to her own devices. Which… well, Amber didn’t really know what she wanted to do. The Demon of Brutality had dropped her another mana stone which she was going to give to the smith along with the one in her possession, but aside from that she didn’t really have any plans.

Or actually, there is something.

Amber ignited a purple flame on the tip of her hand, and focused on it. Though, that didn’t last long, because someone approached her.

“M-Miss, t-thank you for saving us…”

Amber turned and saw a small girl, maybe ten years old at most. Her hair was a visible brown and her eyes were a deep orange just like hers which gave her pause. Though that didn’t last long as she noticed the girl’s apprehension.

“You’re welcome,” she said softly, dismissing the flame and kneeling in front of the girl. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

At that the girl shook her head timidly, and Amber smiled, then there was a silence that she didn’t know what to make of. It was awkward, but then again she never really dealt with kids either.

“W-Will you stay with us?”

Amber tilted her head. She initially planned to sprint straight back, but now thinking about it that'd be a bit weird; especially given what she was doing.

“I guess I do have some responsibility to see you back to the village, so yes.”

At that the girl nodded. “Thank you… miss.”

With that she went off, and people began to talk about her.

“She’s so kind…”

“Now getting a better look, she’s quite a pretty young woman.”

“One that absolutely murdered a demon that could kill all of us!”

In the end, she didn’t really understand the reactions of the people, but for now she didn’t think it mattered. Well, it didn’t matter to her anyway. The only thing that mattered just like before was growing stronger.

Amber reignited the purple flame on her hand, her eyes narrowing.

And for that I must make my mana reach the same heights as my Essence.

So, for the time being, Amber decided to commit to doing that; until she returned to the village anyway.

* * *

Thorn didn’t lose any sleep the first day, the second one however…

He slammed his fist on his bedside table, breaking it into thousands of pieces, he was a sweating mess. And it only made sense, he had made a massive mistake; one that perhaps he couldn’t come back from.

On the first day, he had listened to Frei chat away about her awesome master ⁠— which he thought was a joke ⁠— but at some point he began to believe that this warrior was a lot more than what meets the eye. So he had begun to redefine his opinion of her, hell even Frei bet that she’d be returning in no time. And yet, she was nowhere to be seen.

At first, he didn’t mind, but now that it was the second day, it didn’t make sense to him. In fact, it was about to be the third day and she had yet to return⁠— the mercenaries had yet to return as well. No informants, no nothing. Which meant one thing and one thing only.

“They’ve died to the demons…” he gritted his teeth.

He couldn’t believe his foolishness. Sure, Frei was a powerful individual, but she was a naive girl; she didn’t have as much life experience as himself, so why on Vir would he take her word for granted? Not to say she wasn’t trustworthy, but to say that maybe the thing she placed her faith on wasn’t all that reliable.

And that had been his mistake.

He should have followed after the warrior to ensure she wouldn’t get herself killed⁠— he should’ve followed after her to ensure the mission was a success…

But now, it was too late.

He tightened his fists, and stood up from his bed.

He couldn’t just sleep while knowing his brothers and sisters were slain, he couldn’t sleep while knowing he could’ve prevented an innocent death. No, now he had a duty to fulfill, and with Frei in the village, even if the demons attacked they would stand no chance. Which meant, he was free to set off and avenge his comrades.

Thorn grabbed his staff and in his pajamas, and raised it up high. Mana flowing through it as numerous magic circles appeared around him, and then after a few seconds, his skill finally went off.

In a blink, he appeared well over a kilometer away from the small village of Froststone, and while it wasn’t that much distance relative to where his destination was, the only limit to this was his mana.

And so, he raised his staff again, gritting his teeth with hatred.

“Just you wait, demons… I will kill you all…”

The magic circles gathered, and a moment later, he teleported yet again, crossing a great distance. It was only a matter of hours before he reached his destination.

And once I get there, I will⁠—

A purple arrow zipped past him and hit a small hill in the distance, before it⁠— blew apart. The sky itself was torn open by a purple torrent as the whole world shook, and Thorn felt his heart skip several beats as the shockwave nearly made him lose his step.

Enemy attack! He raised his staff, preparing to kill whatever had used it. If that arrow hit me…

Needless to say he’d be at death’s door right now, it was a powerful attack that easily went into level 250 in power. And given how fast it had happened, it was dangerous.

Stolen novel; please report.

Incredibly so.

He raised his staff and screamed.

“Show yourself, demon!”

At that, a demon appeared in front of him and he pointed his staff in a hurry as he cast. His mana whirling.

“Implode!”

In a single moment the demon exploded⁠— electricity tore the spot in front of him as blood streaked within his vision.

Did I get it?

He frowned and prepared yet another step, but at that moment the demon grabbed at his staff and pulled⁠— he lost his grip as he gasped and then, his staff was tossed to the side as the demon took a step forward, the smoke in front of him dissipating before his very eyes and⁠—

“What do you think you’re doing, are you dumb or something?”

He blinked, seeing a woman; an uninjured woman. A familiar woman.

Amber.

“W-What…?” Thorn stammered. “Why⁠— are you working with the demons?”

At that, the woman frowned, or rather her frown deepened. “No, did you hit yourself in the head or something? Why the fuck would you attack me?”

He paused at her insults before growling. “I thought you were a demon, more importantly, we have to hide,” he said hastily. “There is a demon nearby.”

The woman also paused, taken aback. “Really?”

Thorn nodded gravely. “They just shot a purple arrow at me, if that attack hit me I would’ve⁠—”

“Oh, that was me,” the woman said, relaxing. “Why would you think a demon did that anyway?”

However, her question went ignored as Thorn heard the first thing she said before replaying the attack in his mind. And finally, he swallowed.

“You did that…?”

“Yeah?”

“That’s not…” he hesitated before having a realization. “Why would you fire that so close to the village?!”

“Firstly, because I’m training, and second, all of the mages present are helping me to conceal the attacks to keep the public peace, so it’s not an issue,” she said dismissively.

Thorn frowned. “All of the mages, which mages?”

Amber sighed. “You know, the mercenary group you sent? I rescued them from some demons so now they owe a lot to me.”

“You rescued them…?”

“Yep, from a level 300 Demon of Brutality or whatever.”

Thorn was shocked yet once more as he processed her words. “Wait, level 300?”

“I guess it’ll be faster if I show you,” the woman said with a hint of annoyance as she leaned over reaching for his hand.

“Wait what are you⁠—”

But before he could react, he was teleported twice before being dashed at lightning speed, making him almost throw up. Before it all stopped, he wobbled and then he heard the woman’s voice.

“He wanted to see you or whatever.”

“Thorn?”

“It’s Thorn!”

Thorn shook his head and recovered, and as he looked up, he couldn’t help but pause.

Hundreds of people were before him, and most were excitedly rushing to meet him. They didn’t look great, in fact, some looked like they were on the verge of death, but every single person looked happy.

They were the people that had been kidnapped as well as the mercenaries that had been sent out, and they were alive. Sure, the woman had told him that but seeing it had a completely different impact. One that completely erased any weight he had in his heart.

Kornelius was the first one to actually approach him, which made Thorn feel happy.

“You’re alive.”

“Barely.” The man chuckled. “If it hadn’t been for Miss Amber the entire force would have been wiped.”

At that, Thorn frowned. “That’s not possible, you had so many people with you.”

“And yet, the demons laid an ambush, and if Amber hadn’t intervened and single handedly killed the two demon leaders we would have died.”

“She also killed the one back at the camp!”

At that, Thorn decided to prod. “And what was their level?”

“250,” Kornelius said, closing his eyes. “I really am grateful to her.”

His frown deepened.

“Was there a level 300 demon by any chance?”

Hearing that, Kornelius bit his lip.

“There was…”

So, they had to run… Thorn could see it from his reaction, it was more than obvious what had happened. And she lied…

“And… I’ve never felt so powerless in my life…” Kornelius said gravely. “You know, Thorn, this is the first time I’ve seen such a battle.”

“What do you mean?”

The man gritted his teeth.

“The environment was destroyed, the demon was easily stronger than you and yet…”

“And yet?” Thorn raised his brow.

“He was completely annihilated,” he finished. “Utterly humiliated. It was such a one-sided battle, the demon stood no chance…”

At that, numerous people nodded, and Thorn was stunned. Stunned that his assumptions were wrong, stunned that the woman was indeed telling the truth, stunned that she had indeed slain a level 300 demon.

“I recorded part of the battle…” Kornelius said. “And I am jealous. Jealous of her strength.”

Thorn frowned. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

He shook his head.

“You don’t understand, just watch.”

A moment later, a projection appeared before his eyes. One with a twisted demon in the distance and another with a woman that was being overwhelmed. She wasn’t even fighting back. The demon was incredibly strong however.

Thorn couldn’t believe it. She tired the demon to death?

He supposed that that was one way to win a fight, but wasn’t she meant to be strong? What was this bullshit? Thorn frowned, no longer taking the accounts of the people seriously. It was certainly a commendable achievement, but in a way he felt deceived.

But just as he was about to stop watching, the woman fought back and the demon⁠— exploded.

“Huh?!”

And not just him, but other people audibly gasped.

Then, what followed made his jaw drop. Because he witnessed a battle of incredible power from both parties, and yet one was completely and utterly overwhelmed.

And while Kornelius hadn’t been able to see the finishing blow, he saw the aftermath of it, the blue explosion that was stronger than the purple one he had seen.

“Unbelievable…”

Thorn looked only to see the warrior patting a girl’s head, one who bore resemblance to her and seemed happy to receive the woman’s attention.

Just what is that strength…?

At that moment Thorn resolved himself to never disrespect Frei’s master, and also do one thing.

Crown her as the hero of Froststone.

* * *

Amber arrived in the village and the first thing that happened was Frei embracing her with a tight hug, the second thing that happened was Frei being obnoxious, and the third thing that happened was⁠— giving the smith her two demonic mana stones and her armor. Then, she went to sleep taking the chance to rest her mind while the rest of the villagers busied themselves.

And this time, she slept a reasonable amount of twelve hours.

By the time she awoke in the next day, the village seemed to have restored itself to some form of normalcy, though a grim atmosphere still remained. But, the first thing Amber did was go and find Frei, who seemed to be dozing off near a window inside the inn building inside its second floor.

She shook the elven woman awake who blinked, recognizing her.

“Oh, if it isn’t my master, what do ya need?”

Amber shook her head in disapproval but didn’t say anything, instead she continued with her request.

“Let’s work on the bone enhancement schematics,” she said simply.

“That…” Frei hesitated. “I don’t think it’s a good idea, even if your body can support it it’s…”

Amber raised her brow. “It’s…?”

“Well I tested it on my finger, yesterday,” Frei said, looking at her hand as it began to tremble. “It wasn’t… fun at all.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, due to the structure of our bodies, our bones carry a lot of mana, right? she asked, meeting her gaze. “Meaning that so long as they are attached to ourselves, they are particularly sensitive to things that disrupt the mana flow, such as runes being carved into them.”

Amber frowned, realizing where Frei was going. “Meaning…”

“Meaning the pain is fucking unbearable even with pain tolerance skills,” Frei said flatly.

Hearing that, Amber shook her head. “It’s fine, I’ll get over it.”

“I feel like you’re not listening.” Frei frowned. “This could be classified as an inhumane torture method.”

“Maybe so, but I wish to do that. I wish to grow stronger,” Amber said simply. “Else, I won’t be able to kill the Demon of Genesis.”

Hearing that the elf opened her mouth but quickly closed it.

“Right… fine… just don’t die, you’re my last hope and all that,” the elf said annoyed.

Amber gave her a small smile. “I won’t.”

With that, Frei stood up to follow her, but before they could go anywhere, Thorn came up the stairs.

“There you are, Amber.”

“Yes?” She raised her brow as the old man approached her.

“You’re late your celebration; you’re the hero of this village after all.”

Amber blinked. “I am?”

The old man laughed and grabbed her hand, his staff appearing on his other hand as he raised it.

“Let’s go.”

And before she could refuse, Amber found herself in the middle of the plaza as people cheered at her presence. Confetti ⁠— or what seemed like it ⁠— was thrown as she blinked.

“Thank you for saving my parents!”

“You rescued my brother!”

She paused as she found herself surrounded by people being grateful to her, and she couldn’t help but smile. It was a good feeling after all.

“Froststone, welcomes our hero!” the old man mage called, extending his hands into the air as people cheered. And then he turned to her, offering a scroll. “And after a night of thinking, this is our thank you to you.”

Amber received the scroll as she Appraised it, and her eyes widened in surprise.

[Enchanted Grade ⁠— Map of the Fallen Tower ⁠— Superb Quality.

This map has been enchanted with the following enchantments:

Enchantment of Location: Shows the map's current location relative to the tower.

Enchantment of Topography: Shows the surroundings of the Fallen Tower up to the entirety of the continent.]

“It’s a map we’ve had for generations, but we believe you can make better use of it given you wish to grow stronger,” the man chuckled. “It also doubles as a map of the republic.”

Amber blinked, stowing it with a small smile. “Thank you.”

It was a great reward, especially since it served her goals.

“And that’s not all, our smiths got wind of the request you made of Lennard,” he said with a smile. “So, they all got together to go above and beyond.”

She paused at that. “Wait, it’s done?”

“Yep, and we had a third Demonic Mana Stone.” Thorn smiled and turned around. “Bring it over!”

Amber watched as the crowd parted and a group of smiths brought over a large box. It was as tall as her, and it contained the thing she had asked.

“Have to say, it turned out to be an incredible artifact. Albeit a forbidden one,” he said simply.

She nodded, as the box was put down before her. Amber took a deep breath, and knelt down before opening it.

And what met her eyes was a large greatsword, the same size as Cursewelder, one with three small pearls running through its length that had red veins. And it was Cursewelder’s next upgrade.

Though the appraisal results gave her pause, excitement but also pause.

It was a sword of the highest quality and grade.

A sword of demonic features.

And a sword that carried an unexpected trait, one that gave her pause, but also went to show how amazing the weapon was. For one simple reason.

[Relic Grade ⁠— Demonic Sword: Droz’gad ⁠— Ancient Quality

This sword was forged at the hands of master smiths of the Republic of Mercenaries, and has reached the highest form of craftsmanship in the world. Due to its demonic nature, this sword has been noticed by one of the Demon Gods and named in its wishes, turning it into a divine artifact of demonic origins.

It had a connection to a Demon God. It was a demonic divine artifact.

And its effects were amazing.