The Amber Sword

v5c18

Knights and Craftsmen(1)

Monica was referring to the completion of the Valurian Warrior Hall. The first time Brendel left Valhalla for Ampere Seale, he instructed Monica to build buildings that could be built in Valhalla at that stage. Although the focus was on training Wind Archers and completing the first stage of Valhalla into the second stage of cultivation, Monica still found time to complete the construction of the Valurian Warrior Hall during his free time when he left for the Dead Tundra Forest. Perhaps it could not be said to be completed, as the completion was just recent, but the light spirit girl came to report to him only once a few days ago.

In fact, the reason why Brendel made the Wind Archer the focus of the initial construction of Valhalla, on one hand, was because he had ready Elf Archers as a source of soldiers, and on the other hand, it was because Valhalla did not have a single introduction about this Valurian Warrior Hall, unlike the Wind Elf Archer Camp and the Tree Nest, which had clear instructions on what types of soldiers were produced, how to train them, and what prices and resources were needed for Monica to know a thing or two.

But the description of the Valurian Warrior Hall was only one sentence – ‘It is a functional building.’

Brendel had only seen such a description in auxiliary buildings like the Mage Tower, the Moon Tower, and the Crystal Pool, which were generally built by the players themselves before they could even figure out its purpose. But the Valurian Warrior Hall, which sounded like a training building similar to the barracks of the nobles of Aouine, was so vague, making Brendel feel very unusual. However, at the time when Trentheim was first built, and soon to face a possible war, Brendel did not dare to play his curiosity in such matters, so he chose the more secure Wind Elf Archer camp.

But this did not mean that he was not curious about this so-called Valurian Warrior Hall. In fact, as a player, he was simply curious as hell, and today, he could finally satisfy this curiosity.

Although Monica was clearly avoiding eye contact with him when she came to report, making him think that there was something wrong-

Valhalla’s first loop was still in the first stage of the World Tree’s growth – this loop spiraled upward, connecting to the square area at the top of the tree, allowing for three or four carriages to run alongside, like a wooden street. There were not many buildings on the loop yet, only a dozen or so Elf Arrow Towers around the circumference; these towers seemed to grow from the trunk of the tree, and the base was tightly integrated into the wooden avenue. Between the Arrow Towers were long walls of vines that reached about chest height, similar to a chest wall, with one thorny side and with naturally formed battlements. In addition, between the arrow towers there were many ancient tree-like structures as well. These ancient trees had a human face on their trunks, most of the time with their eyes closed, only occasionally talking to the patrolling Tree Elf Archers. These were the Tree Nests, their root systems were in fact the Vine Root Guards that spread throughout Valhalla. The number of Tree Nests throughout Valhalla had now reached as many as 220, with more than 2000 Vine Root Guards that were fully capable of guarding the entire upper level area.

The Valurian Warrior Hall was located between these Tree Nests, like a part of the extension from the ring road, two thick solid tree branches held up this platform, with the entire platform of the building looking extremely majestic. This magnificent hall was somewhat like the Vikings’ longhouse that Brendel had seen in his previous life, but much more magnificent than that. The interior of the building was also spacious and bright, with twelve huge pillars supporting the towering vaulted ceiling of the hall, and some of the giant warriors up to three or four meters tall sparring with each other in the hall’s center. They were holding spears or heavy swords, divided into groups of two or four fighting against each other, banging and sparking. Even Brendel’s arrival did not attract the attention of these valiant warriors at all.

Those were Cloud Giants.

Brendel looked at these giants with delight, filled with surprise and curiosity. The noblest bloodline of the giants originated from Milos – but the Frost Giants had long since become history, and their descendants, the Cloud Giants and Fire Giants, were displaced from the land like the rest of the Silver People after the Holy War, leaving only the descendants of the Black Dwarfs to live north of today’s Folded Hammer Mountains, the hills of the Holy Cathedral of Earth’s giants. While the Fire Giants were legendary for being warlike and tyrannical, the Cloud Giants were a legendary race not inferior to the Silver Elves, who live in the Mountain of Quelled Storms, who were a tribe of extremely traditional people. In the Twilight War, the Cloud Giants found a human baby and raised him. The human baby later became the most famous hero in history – the Azure Knight. The legendary Cloud Giants tribe who the Azure Knight grew up with in his early years was a mystery, both here and in the game.

In fact this was the first time Brendel saw these giants with his own eyes.

Their skin was very fair, different from the kind of barbaric look people would have imagined. The Cloud Giants, whether warriors or Craftsmen on the sidelines, were all wearing extremely fine armor and gorgeous clothing; most of them had sideburns and beards, but the sideburns were cleanly trimmed, and each one looked like a character from Greek mythology. Their eyes were light blue and jewel-like, their hair was made of gold that glittered; the weapons in their hands were etched with beautiful patterns on the surface, but still as strong as ever, creating sparks every time they collided with each other solidly.

When Brendel,Monica and Princess Medissa crossed the hall, the Cloud Giants finally noticed their presence and stopped to look their way. A giant in a white robe with gold embroidery came out of the crowd, saw Brendel and recognized him. It bowed to him, “Your Lordship, I am Babu, a Craftsman from People of the Clouds, and I am honored to be of service to you.” The giant replied in a gentle voice, appearing mannerly and courteous. But even so, Brendel could feel the other party’s extraordinary aura.

“Nice to meet you, and it is my pleasure,” he replied, “Are you all Elite Elves?”

“He is Babu, Lord!” Medissa exclaimed in a small voice, “He is the most outstanding Craftsman in the history of the Cloud Giants! Ah! That’s Gorju behind him, Esred, and Aftirodi, the King of Forges. They are all the most outstanding giants of different times, and oh my god, they are all in Valhalla!” Brendel recognized none of the names except for Babu – the legend of Gaia forging the Azure Lance by his hand was a mythical story familiar to most people on the continent of Vaunte. He was the greatest Craftsman in the history of the Cloud Giants, and could even be crowned as the Craftsman of the Gods, while as for the others, Medissa’s tone of speech spoke for itself.

They were all existences of at least the same level as Babu.

“There are not many people who can recognize us in the present world, little girl, can you tell me your name?” Babu asked.

“Medissa, I am the Silver Elf, Lord Babu.” Medissa replied respectfully, Brendel had never seen her show such humility, even in front of him.

“Oh, the Silver Elf, I’ve heard of you.” The giant Craftsman showed a dazed look, “I heard that the Miirnas found a tribe in the Holy Silver Valley, those should be your people right? At that time, you all had only begun to learn to use the Law and break the obscurity. It has been so many years since then, and now you all should have built a glorious civilization. History rises and falls, one by one civilization rises in the long river, each shining brightly for an era. Seeing you reminds me of the past.”

Medissa blushed a little and replied embarrassedly, “Lord Babu, the era that belongs to us has passed, and now it is the era that belongs to the Lord and their civilization.”

Babu froze, and then sighed,”It has been so long? It seems that Elaine’s Lake has flowed for quite a long time.”

Brendel listened to Babu and Medissa’s conversation from the side, and was shocked to the core – in Monica’s description, Babu and the others all suddenly appeared at the moment this hall was completed. What kind of existence were they? He naturally would not be unaware.

Craftsmen- whether blacksmiths, tailors, bootmakers, or candle makers, they were all classified as separate professions in the game, just like Scholars and Alchemists. They were all part of the massive life profession system of “The Amber Sword”. As a Craftsman, one would naturally have to learn professional skills. Different professions in the game not only restricted the upper level of professional skills, but also provided bonuses to different professional skills, such as blacksmithing, smelting and preparation skills, which provide a high EXP bonus. But even so, to practice a professional skill to the level of a great master of the 20th level, one would need to upgrade to a single profession level of over 150 at least in the corresponding life profession. .

Although the level of life professions was a little more lenient than the combat professions, this would also be a long process, requiring at least ten years of game time. And only when this requirement was met can a Craftsman be called a Grand Master of the trade.

Not to mention the level of a Godsmith.

After the skill level exceeds 20, each level of improvement was a rare but attainable opportunity. As far as Brendel knew, until the last era of the game, there would be three Godsmiths among the players, belonging to the three most powerful player organizations in the world. And there would be one NPC, that was, later Madara’s forging master Boheimunde. Brendel remembered that Boheimunde and Tharma had a relationship of master and apprentice in Alchemy. I wonder if Madara has discovered him in this era...

But throughout the history of the The Amber Sword, there had always been only one person who had been crowned as the Godsmith, that was Babu.

And now this legendary figure was right in front of him along with seven or eight other presences who were probably also divine Craftsmen who might soon be in the service of Valhalla. Brendel now felt as if he was hit by a big pie in the face, although he vaguely sensed something from Monica’s panicked tone, he did not expect the surprise to come so suddenly. After all, Monica was saying, “Lord, you, you better come and see! Something big has happened! There are a lot of strange guys in the recently completed Valurian Warrior Hall, and they seem to be Elite Elves from somewhere!”

Brendel thought that Valhalla had sent him some instructors, similar to Monica. He did not expect that it would be Babu.

This was Babu-

It took him a moment to react and jacked in, “Lord Babu, are you the owner of this Valurian Warrior Hall?”

Babu then stopped talking to Medissa. Apparently he was very happy to meet ‘acquaintances’, he turned his head, nodded and replied, “I am indeed the owner of this hall, Valurian means brave and fearless in Giant language, this hall in our mythology is the resting place of the bravest warriors, where Craftsmen made the finest weapons and armors for them. This is also where they take up these weapons and go forth to kill after a sumptuous feast.”

“Wait,” Brendel seemed to hear something and finally understood why the Valurian Warrior Hall, although called the Warrior Hall, had an introduction as a functional building. How misleading! He could not help but look up and ask, “Lord Babu, you mean, this is a blacksmith store?”

Babu nodded again, “You could say that.”

Brendel was not at all disappointed to hear this answer from the other party, in fact he should say he was excited. He could not help but continued to ask with a little excitement, “Does that mean that you will stay in Valhalla in the future to forge weapons and armors for the warriors of Valhalla?”

“Naturally, Lord. Valhalla is the final place where I wait for the Elite Elves, we just didn’t expect it to see the light of day again one day, it’s our honor to be able to dedicate our part in this place.”

Brendel took a deep breath after hearing these words, almost jumping up and down with joy. If he was playing the game, he would have done so. Who am I kidding, it’s a Godsmith! It IS the Godsmith, the most legendary Craftsman in history, and seven or eight others like him, what would Valhalla look like in the future with them as blacksmiths? Brendel could already imagine a full-armed army, an army with ‘underwear’ that were Fantasy-ranked equipment walking across the continent. He was full of ‘I’m already invincible’ thoughts, but after being a ‘lord’ for a while, especially under Amandina’s verbal abuse, he became a lot more composed and held back his excitement to ask after. “Then may I ask if I can have you build armor and weapons for my army?”

“That is exactly my duty, my lord.”

“Excellent,” Brendel blurted out, “Just ask for whatever materials you need. Please make sure to help me build a hundred sets of fantasy-rank archer lockets and longbows, and if you can finish them in time, that would be even better!”

In his imagination, this was no big deal to Babu’s group. These were all genuine divine Craftsmen, and there was even a caftsman who had actually built divine weapons – not the kind of third-rate trash divine weapons, but the Azure Lance. Having such divine Craftsmen build Fantasy-ranked weapons and armor, was no more than having ordinary Craftsmen build whiteboard armors. As long as there were enough materials and magic crystals, creating Fantasy-ranked equipment would be like building a toy. Brendel once witnessed a Godsmith building a Fantasy armor, although it was not said to be the standard armor, but the success rate of up to 87.3% still made him dumbfounded.

For fantasy-level equipment, a scrap rate of less than 12 percent was perfectly acceptable. “No,” Brendel shook his head, “I shouldn’t say it’s acceptable, I should say it’s a huge profit!”

But what he did not expect was Babu shaking his head to such a simple request. “I’m afraid this ...... will not work.”

“Why?” Brendel froze, “Could it be that there is not enough time?”

]”No,” this Godsmith shook his head again, “It’s because it can’t be done.”

“You can’t do it?” Brendel asked with great confusion, “How is that possible, you are the legendary Godsmith.”

Babu shook his head with a bitter smile, “Lord, that was before. Our power now is closely related to the power of Valhalla, which is still a fledgling territory, so our ability and EXP level are actually limited to a very low level.”

“Huh?” Brendel could believe that it was just all in his head and had to immediately face the harsh reality. He suddenly came to his senses and realized that Valhalla was also a part of The Amber Sword’s game system. If it was still in the game, it seemed unlikely that the planning and design would allow a newborn Lord to receive divine Craftsmen. Not to mention there was a group of them, which was indeed a bit illogical if one thought about it. If other people found out, it would become a big deal. He gave the matter some thought and realized that Valhalla was a territory with great potential, but this potential referred to the potential for future development, and one day it would be possible for Babu and the others to regain their peak level if Valhalla grew. But that was, after all, only a future possibility.

Brendel came to his senses and calmed down completely, understanding that the so-called someday was something faraway, especially in accordance with the level of consumption of Valhalla, perhaps one day it would become the most legendary fortress in the world, but before that it must also have consumed a legendary number of resources.

This design was in line with the usual style within the game “The Amber Sword”, which can be described as strict. That was, to draw you to a big pie full of temptation, but also to tell you that you had to take one step at a time. After all, one bite does not make a fat man.

He froze for a long time before he had to accept this frustrating reality and asked in a somewhat demoralized manner, “So Lord Babu, may I ask what level your current abilities are at?”

“Similar to those two masters under you.” Babu replied.

Brendel was stunned, and then saw the two master Craftsmen, Tharma and Bosley who were among the giants. They were surprisingly one step ahead of him, and it seemed that they had already arrived here when the light spirits had completed his hall. Most of the people here were in their line of work and their legendary seniors, it was just that their seniors’ powers were limited by the power of Valhalla, and that was why their levels were similar. Otherwise, according to their level, they would have been inferior to all the others present.

But he did not expect Babu and the other’s levels to be limited to such a horrible extent. It was even too generous to say that they were at a low level. Although Tharma’s future reputation was remarkable and he was considered a decent Godsmith, he could only barely be considered a very talented Alchemist the current ment; calling him a master would only be out of respect. As for Bosley, he indeed had the level of a master’s. But after being in the Graudin dungeon for so long, his capability eventually decreased and he only had a fraction of what Tharma had. He might be one of the best in Trentheim or even the entire Radner, but he was no where near the divine level in Aouine. Looking at the entire territory of the Holy Cathedral of Fire, or even Farnezain and Sanorso, there were countless of masters with their current levels.

The first thing Brendel thought was that he had harvested a group of God-class talents, he certainly did not expect to only get a group of first-class Craftsmen. Although the future potential was unknown, but the future was still too far away. At least for now he was frustrated. What a gap between dreams and reality.