Chapter 320: The Fifty Legacies of Velaria (II)

"The Fifty Legacies of Valeria are the whole point of this competition," the man said. "Word is that they were created by the greatest ascenders of Valeria to have ever lived. Legacies from the mighty Dragonkin race, the noble Elves, the brutal Trolls, us lowly Humans, and the rest of the lesser races... Together, the mighty ancestors of all races came together to create these legacies to be passed on."

"To whom, the Champions?" Uhtred asked, raising a brow. He understood that this history the man was speaking of was only the surface level version. There was a deeper, true history that would only be uncovered once he found the sub-scenario. But that didn’t mean this version wasn’t true.

And that was why he was surprised. Were the people of this scenario world okay with allowing these grand legacies to be passed onto Otherworlders and not to locals like them? ℴ

"Yes. The legacies are meant for the great Champions. For it is only they who can bring salvation to our world again."

"What do you mean?"

"You know... To free us... To allow us gain the ability to ascend to higher realms once more."

The man’s words sounded vehement and filled with hope and belief. But to Uhtred it only sounded like the words of a man who’d been told a lie and had never once thought to question it at all.

By "ascend to higher realms," he definitely means ascending to the higher Floors. But he doesn’t know that what he’s been told is completely impossible...

Uhtred didn’t let his doubt show on his face, though. He allowed the man to continue speaking.

The man talked about the legacies. He talked about how he was lucky to be born in an era where he could see Champions for himself. Usually, generations upon generations would pass before another cycle of Champions would arrive.

He then went on to explain how it all mattered to the competition:

"In every competition, there are ten Champions from all the ten races, making a total of a hundred Champions. But only fifty legacies will be claimed..."

"So half the Champions will fail," Uhtred said. But the man shook his head and corrected:

"No. Half the Champions will die."

The words sent a shock through Uhtred. Half! A full fifty percent of the Champions present on this Floor were going to perish here!

Quickly, he pulled up the Scenario Leaderboard in his vision and glanced at where he and every human ranker currently stood. Not a single human had crossed into the top fifty threshold yet.

As it stood, he, along with every single human champion, were in the red. If the scenario ended right at this moment, they would all be dead.

That sent a chill down Uhtred’s spine. This was the first time in any trial, competition or anything of the like that he found himself in such a precarious position.

However, as the man continued to speak, Uhtred found that things weren’t as bad as he’d thought yet.

"To qualify for the fifty legacies, a Champion has to be among those still left standing with a Race Shard by the time the competition ends. Or, by the time the numbers are whittled down to fifty — if such a crazy thing ever happens."

"Ah! Before I move on, Race Shards are given to every Champion once they are declared a competition participant by the ruling powers of their race," he supplied quickly. "For us humans, they can be given by a ruler of any of the five human kingdoms."

The man wanted to move forward, but Uhtred stopped him, asking for more information about this part.

Specifically, he asked if it were possible for a Champion to declare themself without the need for a local ruler.

Uhtred’s words to Xun back at his entry into this world — that there was someone on the human side sabotaging their efforts — had only been said on a whim. But based on what he’d learned just now, perhaps there was some truth to those words of his. He didn’t believe for a second that the rulers of the human kingdoms were okay with giving up these legacies to Otherworlder Champions just like that.

It made him all the more thankful he’d chosen to stay under the radar right from his arrival. The only thing left was gaining his own Race Shard — his Human Shard.

He’d already appeared on the Scenario leaderboard after his first kill, but that clearly wasn’t the requirement to be truly declared a competition participant. He needed to get a shard, and he needed to do it on his own.

Uhtred’s action of pausing to ask whether a Champion claiming a shard on their own was possible didn’t go unnoticed by the adventurer he was interrogating.

It was clear the man now suspected that he was a champion. Uhtred could see a sort of eager, reverent light begin to shine in his eyes all of a sudden.

In an excited tone, he quickly answered Uhtred’s question:

"I don’t know how true, but I’ve heard that a Champion can declare themselves on their own so long as they can reach a Stele," he eagerly explained, then his tone shifted slightly.

"But even if that were true, I don’t see a reason why a Champion will choose to do so. It is customary for a Champion to be announced upon their arrival. In fact, it is a joyous thing. You will be celebrated and treated to the best of resources, so why do you want to hide?"

Uhtred’s gaze turned cold. "Why would ’I’ want to hide?"

"Oh, come on," the man huffed, his demeanor suddenly growing far more daring. "I know you’re a Champion already. You’re one of the three that appeared on the Leaderboard without notice, yeah?"

Uhtred remained silent.

"Heh. Among the adventurers of this city, I’m something of a big shot myself. I’ve already heard news of the rest of the hundred Champion slots filling up. Yet only the whereabouts of three of the six human champions left are known..."

He looked at Uhtred with a knowing smile. His actions became increasingly bold, as though he believed Uhtred being a Champion somehow meant he was less likely to be harmed. He stood up from the ground where he had been lying, rising until he was at eye level with Uhtred.

"There’s no need to hide, friend. Come on," he gestured smoothly. "I will lead you to the capital myself, free of char—"

A sudden blow to the head sent him to the ground like a limp ragdoll.

Uhtred used just enough force to knock him out, yet not enough to kill him outright. It was a delicate use of force — the man was a Nascent Realm ascender, after all... even if a weak one.

Uhtred squatted by his head, thinking of what to do now. He recognized that he couldn’t simply let him go. The man was definitely going to spill every last detail about him the moment he woke up.

But at the same time, Uhtred felt no urge to kill the man just to cover his tracks. He seemed like an average guy just trying to get by — troublesome, but average. Not to mention, he had provided a wealth of crucial intelligence during the interrogation.

Conflicted, Uhtred finally decided on an alternative solution. He placed both palms against the man’s temples and began cycling his Basic Healing Magic. Closing his eyes, he focused deeply, visualizing the flow of his essence passing through the man’s skull and then into his brain.

In his practice with Diya, he’d gotten to learn more physical knowledge about body parts, including the brain. He’d also seen Diya do something similar once — when she fried the brain of that Prime Sapien.

But he wasn’t even going to try something that crazy. All he wanted to do was isolate the short-term memory region of the man’s brain and give it a slight, targeted jolt.

I’ll just try to scramble his memory a little bit... How hard could it be?