The Amber Sword

What did double the privileges mean?

It meant that at his peak, he could even summon eight or more Planeswalker creatures to fight for him. Each of these Planeswalker creatures could, like him, level up and be equipped with strong magical items. They could even use Cards of Fates; so you could imagine that the two elemental pools would support drawing multiple cards each round. What an astounding scene it would be to watch nine maxed-out Planeswalker mages attack simultaneously!

In the light of such a huge advantage, what most Planeswalker mages considered as weaknesses, along with Tuman’s concerns, vanished without a trace.

When he thought of this, Brendel had to close his eyes as he shook slightly. If he had any doubts before formally choosing this path, in this moment, as he truly confirmed his thoughts —

He finally understood that a Planeswalker path that only belonged to him had already been carved into this world’s history.

This was the true path to perfection and to the limits. It was unique and unreproducible. For others, it would be as hard as reaching the skies. But for Brendel, this seemed as if it was made for him. He had double elemental pools and double privileges. The only things he needed to worry about for this pool of cards – the massive amount of equipment, the experience, and the size of the elemental pool – as a reborn and highly experienced warrior, these were coincidentally the things Brendel excelled at.

Because Brendel could believe that in this world, aside from the gods and the Pale Poem that recorded everything, it would probably be challenging to find anyone who knew more about the world’s secrets than he did, whether they were in the past, future, or present.

But for Brendel, all of this was not a coincidence or luck, because nobody knew him better than he knew himself. Before he stepped onto this path, or rather at the moment Brendel received Kelsie’s handwritten notes, he had understood that this was the path best suited for him.

And now, every detail supported his hypothesis.

He closed his eyes momentarily and opened them again. He took in the mountain ranges and the rise and fall of the peaks and valleys made him think, for just a moment, that the entire world lay beneath his feet.

This was the power unique to Planeswalkers. Everything became a weapon and the world was their battlefield.

Brendel let out a long sigh, as if releasing this emotion from his heart. He slowly let go of his hands and the elemental powers dispersed from the center of his palm. In that instant, Tuman and Sanorso watched the scene with some regret. The Elemental Emperor and King of Mages, two individuals from the War the Holy Saints, had the mistaken sensation that a miracle was vanishing in front of their eyes, never to be seen again.

It was truly a miracle.

Differently from what Tuman and Sanorso detected, Brendel had a more direct view of this miracle. The two elemental pools, one on the right and one on the left, vibrated in the air like two light screens and clearly displayed the complete statistics in front of his eyes.

[Fire] (20/20)

[Wind] (20/20)

[Earth] (20/20)

[Water] (20/20)

[Light] (40/40)

[Dark] (10/10)

[Elemental] (One)

[Fire] (60/60)

[Wind] (60/60)

[Earth] (60/60)

[Water] (60/60)

[Light] (60/60)

[Dark] (120/120)

[Nature] (60/60)

There was a big and a small elemental pool. The smaller one clearly belonged to Brendel’s soul. After every element had been reset, the nature element pool was still zero; this meant that Brendel himself really had no affinity for the druidic power system. But due to being blessed by Marsha, his affinity for light elementals was ahead of the pack and it was even twice as much as the other elementals.

The other was more bizarre.

As a reset elemental pool, every attribute’s maximum statistic was as high as 60 and the dark elemental pool was even as high as an unbelievable 120. Though this was far from what Tuman the Elemental Emperor’s had been back then, this was an inconceivable number when compared to those who had some talent for the use of elements or the prospective students who were chosen among hundreds and recommended to attend Sanorso Tholim Elemental Academy  or the Howling Halls of Eleranta.

The truth was that Brendel himself had a hard time believing that Sophie’s half of the soul would have such a strong affinity for the elements.

“Look at your card pool!” Tuman suddenly cried out.

Brendel had actually realized the same thing. He opened up his interface and the two sets of numbers immediately dazzled him.

6（10），13（20）

Two elemental pools meant there were two separately counted card pools. Though he had already guessed it, Brendel still choked at the sight. He silently looked at the interface and then raised his head to look at Tuman. Even if he didn’t say a word, the look in his eyes gave it away.

“Two card pools?” Tuman inhaled sharply. He was about to lose all rational thought.

Brendel nodded.

“Marsha above–”

Only a few seconds had passed, or maybe in an eternity since the bizarre scene on the platform made it hard for the three of them to detect the passing of time. The wind howling angrily between the peaks seemed to be an accurate representation of this particular moment in time.

After what felt like a century, Sanorso seemed to finally recover her wits after the shock. “Brendel, you… Odin certainly did know how to pick them… w-what exactly is going on?”

Before Brendel had the chance to answer, Tuman interrupted them. The young man stared intently at Brendel with his blood-red eyes and asked, “Brendel, did you know this was going to happen?”

Brendel briefly paused in surprise.

He hadn’t thought the Elemental Emperor would be so sharp as to figure this out. He hesitated for a moment; this was, after all, his greatest secret. If he could, he’d rather continue keeping it a secret. But in the next second, he changed his mind and gave a small nod of his head. “Yes, but I don’t know how to explain it. Master Tuman –”

“Then don’t explain,” Tuman answered in all seriousness. He glanced earnestly at Brendel and sighed, “… maybe one day you will become a legend amongst the Planeswalkers, Brendel.”

Brendel inhaled slightly.

The reason he said anything was so he wouldn’t lose the other’s trust. After all, the lineage of Planeswalkers he joined originated from this Elemental Emperor. Besides, the man’s soul has already turned into one of the many stars hovering above them in the Warndt sky and Brendel needn’t worry about the man finding out the truth.

Tuman didn’t disappoint.

The Elemental Emperor stopped for a minute and then continued asking, “So, now that you are sure of your path, what will you do about the cards in your hands?”

Brendel knew this was the biggest challenge he faced. In the two card pool numbers, 4(10) and 12(20), the one before the parenthesis represented the upper limit to his card pool and the one after represented the number of cards he could temporarily possess without adding them to his pool.

As soon as he officially entered the field of the Planeswalkers, the rules of the Law clearly dictated that he could no longer walk about with anyone’s cards like he did as an apprentice. After all, cards coming from different Laws were destined to be in conflict with the Laws of the Planeswalker himself. Once the conflict surpasses a certain threshold, severe retaliation was inevitable.

The consequences of retaliation ranged from the destruction of the cards to having the Planeswalker suffer or even to the destruction of the Planeswalkers themselves. Such a thing has been known to happen before in history. Before Brendel officially became a Planeswalker, his mind seemed to have automatically inherited memories on these topics.

But he has already considered these questions and answered unhesitantly, “I’ve already thought about it. But before then I’d like to declare the second privilege.”

“The second privilege?” Tuman lifted his head and looked at Brendel’s cards. He asked, “Which one of the twelve systems are you choosing?”

“This time, I’d like to use someone close to me.” Brendel smiled and lifted his head as well. His gaze landed on another card hovering in midair. He asked, “Ciel, are you ready?”

“I am ready anytime to level up, my leader.” Ciel’s voice sounded confident in Brendel, just as usual.

“I’m afraid there will be no leveling up. Instead you’ll have to be reset. From now on, you won’t be able to die and revive yourself and then die again. Are you sure?” Brendel demanded seriously.

“Don’t say it like dying, reviving, and then dying again is a fun thing, my leader.” Ciel’s voice couldn’t help but protest. “Besides, once I leave the card, I’ll be more like a normal person. That already is a great boon to your humble servant.”

“Then I understand,” Brendel nodded and said, “this will be the opposite of last time. I’ll make you the center first and then declare the rest of the group of cards –”

As he explained, he reached out his hand.

“I declare this rule to be born from this.”

“The Holy White Tower flashes among the floating clouds. The mage holding a scroll wanders up its twisting holy steps.”

His voice resonated on the platform. The Sacred Tree Secret Place fell into his hands, just like the clouds gathering in the sky. It fell between the clouds, and immediately a white tower sprung up. The tower glinted under sunlight and then pure white skies, hallways, and bridges all turned solid among the colorful light beams. A mage, holding a long scroll in his hands, walked out of the tower. In a flash, he used a mysterious magic and created a shining city.

In the middle of that city, a humongous tree rose from the ground. It’s ivory trunks supported the emerald dome of its leaves and it reached out to shield the entire city underneath its canopy.

Underneath the city floating above the clouds, the azure ocean became the palette for the entire world. Brendel then put in the Ember’s Volcano, and the distant line of the mountain ranges smoked on the horizon.

The two cards melded into the new world, and the chaotic world immediately stabilized.

Brendel finally had the time to look at this cerulean underwater world and its neighboring planes. Both worlds hovered in the air, like two little dioramas.

Then he said, “This is your world, Ciel.”

“I am beyond grateful, my leader.” Ciel’s laughter rang out.

Brendel pointed and explained, “I gave the name ‘Fahreinen” to Medissa’s world to symbolize the honor on the planes. Your world shall be named Belinca. This aquamarine sea will be the source of your power. It represents the Silver Mages — noble, mysterious, elegant, and ever-changing.”

“Silver Mages have stood at the apex of the Law for centuries. Their power comes from their astounding wisdom and their desire for knowledge.”

He reached out a hand and Ciel’s card landed in his palm. Silver flames seemed to burn on the card and once the flames faded, the dark gold color of the card was revealed —

Silver Mage

Law I

Water: 30

[Creature – Silver Mage/ Human (Level 1)]

When the Silver Mage is played, it has 100 Elemental Points. Enchantment: Planeswalker.

Recovers 20 Elemental Points.

Silver Mage shall be a permanent object in the field.

‘The words that flow between the pages shall be the keys to opening the doors of power –”