The Amber Sword

White City Pioneer, Holy Song, Group Sprint, Encouragement, Cavalry Readiness, and Heaven’s Armament. The six cards fell into Brendel’s hand in a stack. As Brendel clenched his hand, all the cards transformed into countless white mystical characters and Lines of Laws which merged into his chest.

When Tuman saw this scene, he couldn’t help but ask, “Wouldn’t six cards be a bit too few as a separate deck?”

Brendel smiled, then shook his head.

“Kinda funny, I can probably see where you’re coming from.” The Elemental Emperor from the War of the Holy Saints reacted with a slight sigh, “You’re trying to draw the abilities of every profession in the world into your deck, combine them into one, and use the Cards of Fates to simulate very different power systems. Great idea! But there are so many different kinds of professions above Vaunte, can you perform them all with cards?”

“Of course.” These questions Brendel had already considered, and he replied confidently, “The World of Vaunte has gone through thousands or even tens of thousands of years of history. In that time, thousands of professions have evolved, and even different inheritances from different organizations can evolve into two very different professions. For example, the Star Knight and the Iron Scale of the Wind Elves were both inherited from the Star Legacy, but possess very different skills.”

“However-” he changed his tone, “Everything changes, and when it comes to the root cause, the power systems in Vaunte can only be divided into twelve. Among them, the warrior professions that seek the limits of combat skills and explore one’s potential are divided into two, the power-based warriors – mercenaries, swordsmen, and even noble knights can all be classified into one. The archers and assassins who pursue lightness and agility are on the other side of the scale. Then there are also the mages who explore the mysteries of the Laws, which include all of the Conjurers, String Mages, and Spellcasters. There is also the ruler of the elements, the Elemental Messenger – a profession you will be familiar with, Emperor.”

“Next are the sorcerers who manipulate chaos and Black Magic. Witches, Necromancers, and Adherents of Chaos are the best of the lot. And then there are the forces that control the balance of nature. Though the Archdruids and the Tree Shepherds are enemies, they both lie off the grid. Next is the favorite of the Goddesses Alice and Elaine. Those who interpret fate, Astrologers, are represented here.”

Tuman’s eyes could not help but light up slightly as he listened to Brendel interpret the professions. It was the first time in a thousand years that he had heard someone divide the continent’s power systems in this way. And the more he listened, the more he felt Brendel was very reasonable. Not only Tuman, but even Sanorso on the side paid close attention to what Brendel was saying.

Legend had it that a generation ago, Fort Ebabel stood tall. When the Great Library still contained intact materials from the civilization of the Era of the Gods, people divided the powers of the world into several systems. But after the catastrophe, all knowledge was lost in scattered fragments, and naturally, these valuable documents were nowhere to be found.

Tuman listened carefully to Brendel’s explanation, and as he listened, the more he felt that this might have been the truth from those times. He could not help but narrow his eyes, wondering why this young man in front of him could see the nature of power so clearly.

Of course, this Elemental Emperor did not know that what Brendel was talking about was the introduction to the Amber Sword’s power systems on the official website back then. If there was anyone who was unsure about this introduction, it would probably be someone who had never played the game.

Brendel continued, “However, in addition to the power of nature, Law, and the chaos of magic, the Law of Tiamat also has control over divine power in the world. The mundane Thelma lineage holds the power of creation. The priests of the Holy Cathedral of Fire and the rituals of the Holy Cathedral of Wind revere this lineage, and thus hold power to heal. The proud Aynka lineage holds the Sword of Destruction, Lightning, and Holy Flame, and the knights of the Holy Cathedral who wield these powers believe in the ways of arbitration and judgment.”

“After that comes to the Power of the Mind, which is borne through spirit, speech, and voice. Bards and mind sorcerers, though rare, do not exist only in legend. In addition, among the magical powers, some extended their studies of magic to magical technology, bringing forth Alchemists and Mechanics.”

“And lastly, there is a rather special power system,” Brendel said suddenly.

“Huh?” Before Tuman even spoke, the Wind Empress could not help but start in curiosity. But she seemed to then feel a bit embarrassed so she snorted coldly.

Brendel had gotten along with this Elf for a long time, so how could he not understand what the other party was thinking? Hastily, he explained, “People say this one power system is special, but it’s not that it’s weaker. It should be said that it had once existed but has now gone extinct, or only existed in fantasy.”

“What profession?” Sanorso finally managed to open her mouth, “Damn it, Brendel, don’t you leave us hanging.”

“That’s because you’re in a hurry, Wind Empress-” Brendel was about to say that, but she glared back at him. He had no choice but to reply, “Actually, I don’t know, I just heard about it.”

“Heard?” The Wind Empress stared at him suspiciously.

“Yes.” Brendel nodded, but he kept to himself that he had actually seen such a profession once. it wasn’t that he had never witnessed such a profession; however, he was unable to explain the profession’s existence. The Slate Interpreter, a gift from the Age of the Gods. A profession that a player could never touch; how could he explain it in this era?

The Elf seemed to trust Brendel quite a bit, she looked at him silently and finally nodded her head. “In other words, the power system of the entire Vaunte is divided into these twelve? It’s actually only eleven categories, right? And while swordsmen and archers in an army may look completely different, there’s actually no difference in the nature of their power.”

Sanorso was quite accurate, and Tuman immediately nodded in agreement. Brendel nodded as well. “You could say that all in all, though there are thousands of professions in the Vaunte world, they are nothing more than these twelve power systems intertwined to form each unique class.”

“For example, the rangers of the Loop of Skies and the Loop of Raptors are nothing more than warriors who practice both archery and the Way of Nature. But time is fair to everyone, and most people who balance multiple systems of power tend to go less far than those who pursue one path. Though, there are a few of the best among these classes that are exceptions.” Brendel further explained, “And all I have to do to perfect my deck is to pick the professions that I need and are representative of those professions. For example, a Farland Knight, or a Silver Mage of Buga.”

Tuman frowned in thought after hearing that, before sighing, “That’s a good core concept; although there may be some omissions in the details, that’s the general idea. Whether it be the Silver or Golden Folk, or the Black Dwarfs, all are in fact nothing more than operating under these systems of power.”

“But even so… Have you ever considered that there’s another problem?” he looked at Brendel sternly. “although your deck is capable of encompassing all the power systems, combining them into one, have you considered that due to the restrictions on switching decks imposed by the existing Law, you can in fact only use one or two of them at will at any one time!”

“And since the Planeswalkers themselves are at a higher level of power than these power systems, wouldn’t it be a bit too wasteful of you to squander cards on simulating these lower-end power systems? Secondly, since most of your cards are spells, it would be easily countered. That’s one of the big weaknesses Planeswalkers tend to look for and exploit.”

Tuman, worthy of his reputation as a long-established and experienced Planeswalker, saw the weakness of Brendel’s deck – at least as far as he was concerned.

Because for any Planeswalker, the lifelong pursuit was a perfect deck cycle. The more a deck was restrained, the less likely it would be to survive in their eyes.

The system of the solstice, in and of itself, was the first lesson to be learned by a traveling mage apprentice.

But Brendel shook his head lightly after hearing Tuman’s words, “No, Lord Tuman. I don’t think so. Traveling mages seek perfection, the ultimate pinnacle of excellence. But in the past thousand years, have any of them succeeded?”

“This…” Tuman choked, and he could not help but look up at the gloomy sky of the Grahal Mountains. Many histories had played out beneath them for thousands of years, over and over again, as empires and kingdoms rose and fell. But despite the many long cycles of history, no one had ever broken through to that perfect end result.

Had a Planeswalker ever succeeded?

Of course not. Otherwise, why would they spend their lives searching for perfection?

Brendel laughed, “I’ve been in a fight before.” He remembered his battle with Williams, that final thrilling moment forever etched in his mind. He replied, “The experience of that fight made me understand. No matter how perfect the cycle is, it’s impossible to be prepared for every situation.”

“Therefore I believe that perfection is only a relative state,” he rambled, “How to reach a more perfect state relative to the enemy in the middle of a battle is something we’ve all thought about wrong because the answer is simple – to become stronger than him.”

“To accomplish this, power can be borrowed from everywhere. Just focus on your strengths for a moment and all trickery will vanish.”

Tuman looked at Brendel.

This Elemental Emperor from the era of the War of the Holy Saints took a deep breath, “I know a few old friends who think like you. They pursued the ultimate violence, and as long as they destroyed their enemies, all was meaningless. But they all failed. Do you know why?”

“Because there’s always someone stronger than them, and the notion of being the strongest is nothing more than an idea,” Brendel said without even thinking about it.

“You know?” Tuman was slightly startled and looked at the young man curiously.

“Yes,” Brendel smiled, “but I’m not like them. Because I also know the saying that one person can never be stronger than a team.”

He uttered the words almost word for word: One man is never stronger than a team!

These words repeatedly brought up his memory after a certain period of time. That person with a distinct and endearing face, hands crossed at the waist and long black hair falling over the shoulders said to them.

“Always remember, one person is never stronger than a team! It’s a division of labor game and I don’t welcome individual heroism! Especially you, Sophie!”

Brendel couldn’t help but smile a little at the thought.

But Tuman had frowned deeply in front of him. He suddenly thought of something and looked up a little shocked, “Wait, that guy Kelsie… are you trying to do that?”

As soon as Brendel took a look at this Elemental Emperor’s appearance, he understood that the other party had understood completely. He nodded and replied, “Yes, Emperor, in fact, I had already made up my mind before this trip. The most valuable inheritance I received when I accepted Lord Trishman’s legacy at the time was not his cards, but his knowledge.”

Tuman let out a sigh out of relief, the Planeswalkers each had their own characteristics, but when it came to Kelsie’s specialities, it was not his Paradise of Adversity.

Rather, it was the theory he had created at the end of his life.

The Planeswalkers.