Sylver Seeker

Chapter 180: Prepared For Trouble (2/2)

Aside from the giant serpent that snuck up on them, and then pestered Bruno until he scratched the monsters nose, Sylvers retelling of events almost sounded like a report a subordinate would give to a superior.

Bruno was the only person Sylver could genuinely consider an equal.

He liked Lola, he trusted Lola, he relied on her, and as much as he hated himself for even thinking in those terms, Lola was far too young for him to see her as someone he could confide in.

Bruno listened intently, he interrupted only when Sylver hadnt made a certain piece clear enough, and even though Sylver didnt consider this wise, he told the ancient reincarnator about the prophecy the book had screamed at him.

For a good 10 minutes, they stood next to each other in silence. Sylver spent the time observing his surroundings, the inside of a small hole that had been carved into the wall. It contained a table, two chairs, and enough anti-scrying spells that Sylver felt physically sick for the first 5 minutes.

There was also a bunch of blankets on the floor, that Bruno wordlessly kicked away into the corner.

Ignore it, Bruno decided.

Thats the plan, Sylver agreed.

If its a real prophecy, you wont be able to stop it, not at the level you are now. And if its a fake just to fuck with you, ignoring it will render it powerless, Bruno explained.

Its already fucked with me But I agree, trying to search for the names isnt going to achieve a whole lot Sylver said.

Another minute of silence passed.

How do you mean she isnt affected by magic? Bruno asked.

Ill bring her over to show you, or come to my house, shes currently acting as Chrys translator. Her soul is massive, and she has another function that Im not at liberty to speak of, Sylver said and felt a companionship he hadnt realized just how much he would miss, up until he lost it.

Being an ancient lich was a fucking curse if you didnt have an ancient healer to talk things over with, joke around with, someone to bounce your thoughts and ideas off, to make sure you havent gone insane.

You said Schlagen mountains, right? Bruno asked.

Hmm? Yeah, at least according to Lolas notes, that is the most logical place to go to. Ill be able to triangulate his position anyway, but I dont know if hes moving, or in one place, Sylver said.

Raw mana though How do you stain a sword with raw mana? Bruno asked.

In the distance, the slightly dark orange cows made a noise that Bruno described as a moo but to Sylvers ears sounded more like someones first time playing the tuba.

In Edmunds culture, a persons weapon, specifically a sword, is a representation of them, but its also an extension of them, like a child. In his eyes a sword that has a chip, thats scratched, that doesnt have a polished handle, is like seeing a parent with a starved child. Its indecent, Sylver explained.

It was a concept that he himself didnt fully understand, but understood enough to know to always keep his daggers and weapons clean and presentable.

Faust mentioned something like this. Ive seen him pick fights with other swordsmen because their leather scabbard was tarnished, Bruno said.

This part is hard to put into words In his culture, youre supposed to get 1 sword and use 1 sword. His people have a whole ceremony where the warrior enters a room full of blades and picks one out for himself. They have this thing, if you take a sword from that room, you have to bring it back.

A proper warrior doesnt die in battle, he survives everything, returns to that backwater shithole of a city, and puts his sword back into that room, and spends what little days he has left passing on his wisdom to the next generation. Now, there is a sort of exception to this, Sylver said.

When its broken, right?

Exactly. If your sword breaks, that means your spirit wasnt tough enough, the blade didnt accept you, long story short you can get a new one if you can bring them the broken blade. In the Ibis its customary for apprentices to be given to other masters to study under. One of Edmunds was this hermit, lived inside the skull of a dead giant, super weird guy, made tea from elephant turds, Sylver said.

Even now he could remember the feeling of that slimy liquid disappearing down his throat as that old fuck told him what he had just drunk. The fact that it actually tasted quite nice, didnt matter.

Very rare that a master of the sword actually does something. They love hiding in the middle of nowhere though, to train their mind, Bruno nodded along.

Anyway, he taught Edmund this one neat trick. You know how archers can adjust the path of their arrow by heating or cooling the metal tip to make it bend a bit so it will go in a certain direction? Sylver asked.

Sure.

Well, Edmund being a pyromancer, he figured out a way to do that to his sword. Not just a little, but enough that his blade was liquid. Ignoring that its considered a form when he does it, but cheating, when I do something similar, it really is a good strategy. The power of a sword, with the unpredictability and flexibility, of a whip, Sylver reminisced.

I think I can see it. He uses the same spell to bend the sword of his opponent to render it unusable. But because it isnt broken the warrior is required to break his own sword, if he plans to continue being a warrior, Bruno said.

Yep. Although he only used it 3 times that Im aware of. To him doing that to an opponents blade is the ultimate sign of disrespect. Because in his eyes, what hes doing is crippling his opponents child, and thus forcing them to kill it with their own hands. Its a pointless act, the people he did it to just got a new sword well, I mean they died, but if he hadnt killed them, they would have just gotten a new sword, Sylver tried to explain.

He never fully grasped the idea of dishonoring someone before their death.

If Sylver wanted someone dead, he killed them, torturing them achieved nothing and was a waste of time since they would be dead all the same.

Now, if he needed information out of them, or needed them to suffer for a ritual, that was an entirely different matter, Sylver could torture if the pain the victim went through served a purpose. Or if he needed to do it to send a message, but the way Edmund did it was completely pointless.

So you think he fought with the [Hero]and left his mana in the sword? To mark it, or was this a failed attempt to dishonor the [Hero], Bruno asked.

I dont know. I mean, I honestly dont know. It might not even be his mana.

But the woman in white, Rose, she-

She said Lola would know where he is. She doesnt know where he is. I find it hard to believe that its a coincidence that a spell only 5 people were aware of, and had the power to utilize, was the spell used to fuck up the [Hero]s sword. But, once again, I dont know, Sylver explained.

He reached up to his mouth and wiped away some kind of dirt that had fallen down onto his lip from the dirt ceiling.

So whats the plan for all of this? Sylver asked as he gestured out towards the large field. End goal, where do you see yourself in 10 years?

A serious look appeared in all 8 of Brunos eyes.

World domination, he said as he stared out towards the fuzzy orange cows.

Sylver slapped the man on the back and started laughing.

No, come one, be serious, Sylver said, as he continued to laugh.

I am serious, Bruno said and turned to face Sylver.

His top right eye twitched.

Fuck! Bruno swore as the smile he had been holding back was released and allowed to spread into a giant grin. Admit it, half a second, you believed me for half a second, Bruno said, as he started to giggle, and then laugh along with Sylver.

Sylver wrapped his arm around the ancient reincarnator and the two continued laughing like children.

Alright, not half a second, maybe a quarter, a third at best, youre too smart to do try to do something that stupid. World domination, I cant remember the last time I heard those two words together, Sylver said.

I think Ive tried it more than once in my past lives. But youre right, guess the world can continue being the way it is for the time being, Bruno said.

So whats the plan? 10 years from now, 20 years, 100 years, Sylver questioned.

I think I can conquer this whole dungeon in the next 10 years. It runs deep, Ive never seen anything like it. After that I dont know I started this when I was furious, and then I blinked, and a year passed without me noticing, Bruno said.

It was a feeling Sylver understood all too well. Bruno continued speaking.

I couldnt have done it without Tera, I was a husk for a good month after the outbreak. She helped me get back on my feet, and then provided constructive criticism when I started spawning chimeras, and then acquired all the illegal ingredients I could ever want, Bruno reminisced, as he remembered the early days, where every second egg was a dud.

I noticed most of the kids are missing, Sylver said, as he let go of Bruno, and the two sat down on the ledge of the hole carved into the wall.

Silian academy. Nadin, Karina, Oliver, Lukas, and Isaac all left to study. Only Mary, Corina, and Isabell are left Did Tera tell you about the present? Bruno asked.

For who?

For you she didnt say anything? I thought for certain it would be the first thing out of her mouth, Bruno said.

I have no idea what youre talking about.

Bruno stood up and dusted himself off, and Sylver did the same shortly after.

It will be easier to show you than it is to explain it. Have you got enough space in your shadow for a couple of chimeras? I bred them specifically for you to convert into shades, the bodies are perfectly preserved, and their souls havent moved an inch since the day they died, Bruno said.

Sylver placed his hand over where he had gotten used to his heart being.

Im touched Bruno, really, thank you, Sylver answered, and the two men hugged again.

Youre going to love the horse chimera. It is insanely fast. And with just a small amount of mana, it can effectively fly Its only got 7 legs, the 8th had to be removed, but Im not lying when I say that it made it even better when I got rid of it, Bruno promised, as he and Sylver jumped out of the cave and Sylver caught Bruno with his shadow so he didnt break anything as they landed.

I cant wait to see it, Sylver said.