If we were to choose the person who helped Ash the most in Broken Lake Prison, the answer would be almost unquestionable - not Harvey, not Langna, not 222, and not Igula, but Valcas Ur.
If it weren't for Valkas, Ash would have turned into a firework in the Blood Moon Judgment. It was precisely because of the once-in-a-century opportunity of the "Judgment Spirit" to draw out the malice deep in the hearts of the people of Kymon that Ash, the famous and popular cult leader, was lucky enough to escape.
Naturally, Valkas did not want to save Ash subjectively. Even though he gave Ash the Heart Sword, Earth Sword, Wind Wall and other magical spirits before he died, he just wanted to make things difficult for Shilling.
Ash did not think that he needed to owe Valkas a favor. In fact, after experiencing a series of ups and downs such as escaping from prison, escaping from the blood moon, joining the funeral rite, escaping from Azula, the white mist incident, and being captured by Beldette, Ash almost forgot about the elf who blocked the knife for him.
Meeting Valkas in the virtual world was unexpected, but also reasonable.
After the sorcerer's death, his soul falls into the six levels of hell, and all emotions are washed away, leaving only the purest memories and soul. It falls into the virtual world and turns into the sorcerer's projection, becoming a test of inheritance left for future sorcerers.
It is precisely because of this compulsory traditional custom that magicians cannot monopolize intellectual property rights. Even if countries are closed to each other, knowledge will still circulate in the virtual world, which is why there is a flourishing magician civilization.
As a two-winged magician, Valcas would of course become a magician projection of the Time Continent after his death. And the Heroic Soul Commanders are all transformed from magician projections, so it is reasonable for him to become a Heroic Soul Commander.
When Valcas just died, Ash wondered whether he would meet his projection in the virtual world, but he never expected that fate would be so mysterious.
but--
"Aren't you a man?" Ash asked blankly.
He and Valcas have fought each other before. Even if Ash is blind, he can't be unable to tell the difference between a male and a female!
"I haven't always been a man." Valkas said calmly, "After being a female elf for nearly a hundred years, it's normal to want to experience the world of male elves. This is a very common idea among the elves. Humans will also choose their favorite gender after adulthood. Almost all the elves I remember have gone through a 'sex change period'. If they like it, they stay the same. If they don't like it, they change back."
"Besides my curiosity about the opposite sex, another reason is that I have my own child. According to my thinking, if I don't have plastic surgery, the Beloved Church will still be suspicious of me living with my child in the future. But since I have already had plastic surgery, I might as well go ahead with a sex change. This way, people will at most suspect that I am a pedophile elf, but will not suspect that I have a blood relationship with the child."
"However, the physical transformation in reality will not be recognized by the virtual world. It can only present the essential shape of my soul. Therefore, I changed back to my original appearance... Do you have any questions?"
There are so many questions!
What is the point of changing sex instead of plastic surgery? Since you have to rent a house anyway, why not pay more and buy one? Is the slippery slope so thorough?
Although Ash had heard many times that Blood Moon was the best in the world in biological transformation, this kind of scientific and technological achievements were mostly reflected in the lower-class people transforming themselves mechanically to adapt to advanced capitalist production. He really didn't expect that the middle class would also be so good at it - he couldn't tell at all that Valcas was not a man!
But this is where things get a bit tricky.
Seeing Ash silently holding up his sword, Valkas lightly brushed the blade with his fingers and assumed a standard swordsmanship stance: "Do you want to kill me too?"
"Yes." Ash said bluntly: "Killing the commander will reveal maps, summoning spirits and commander manuals, which are all resources I desperately need. As I just told you, I am being hunted by the Spider Tower now, and I can't miss any opportunity to quickly increase my strength... I have to protect the people I care about."
That's right, Valkas did save Ash, and the magic spirit he gave him also helped Ash a lot - without the Heart Sword, Ash would not be able to perform the miracle of Kill Me and escape from prison; the miracle 'Sword Body Barrier' of the Earth Sword and Wind Wall combination is still an important part of his tactical system.
But Valkas was already dead, beaten into a pool of mosquito blood by the Titan Executioner during the Blood Moon Trial.
What remains before Ash now is only a memory of the past, a dead soul enlightened by the Lord God.
Although Ash could not appreciate Harvey's necromancy faction, there was one thing the necromancer said that was very true - the dead should serve the living, not the other way around.
Even though he felt a little uneasy, Ash would not show mercy. He was not only carrying his own life, but also the future of Sword Lady and Witch.
"To protect others..." Valcas nodded: "I see. That's what I can do."
"Then, Valcas," Ash took a deep breath, "Please teach me—"
"Could you please not ask for the commander's manual?"
Ash, who had already prepared himself mentally, was confused by this question and said after a while: "...Is it okay?"
The benefits brought by the Commander's Manual are command skills and faction experience. Command skills are meaningless to a magician, and Ash doesn't lack that little bit of faction experience.
But why are you asking this?
"I can give you the spiritualist spirit and the map." Valcas said calmly, "Can you please not kill me?"
Ash didn't respond for a while: "...Why?"
"I have no soul power left now. If I continue to fight you, I will most likely die. If I can hand over certain resources in exchange for my life, this deal is worth making." Valcas said, "Unless we are at war with other countries, there is no need for the commander to fight to the death - there is no merit in dying here."
"But the commander I killed before fought with me till the very end..."
“Maybe he thought he had a chance to defeat you until he died.” Valcas shook his head: “But I have no soul power and no followers, so the chances of winning are too slim.”
"But you're not the kind of person who would surrender without a fight!"
Valcas was slightly startled and asked, "What kind of person am I in your impression?"
"You are proud, impulsive, sentimental, and you like to use sharp tongue to anger others." Ash said, "Even if you know you will lose, you will definitely try your best to mediate with me until there is no hope... To be more precise, you would rather die than compromise."
"If you're willing to compromise, you won't die at all."
The main reason why Xilin forced Valcas to death was that Valcas refused to give up raising the child. As an elf, Valcas could still be imprisoned, and Xilin played a great role in this. However, Valcas refused to compromise until his death and insisted on violating the "Bloodline Prohibition Law". The extremely disappointed Xilin resolutely gave up this son... or daughter who he had watched grow up since childhood.
In a sense, Schilling is actually the ultimate double standard. He is clearly taking care of Valcas, but he does not allow Valcas to take care of her children.
But it was precisely because of this contradiction in cognition that Schilling so violently prohibited Valkas from repeating his mistakes - in the Blood Moon, "selfishness" was the only political correctness. Everything Schilling did was to hope that Valkas could become more selfish and become an advanced elf that was more adaptable to the survival of the Blood Moon society. This was his "goodness" to Valkas.
"If Valcas fails to become 'normal', then maybe letting her die is the best outcome."... Ash didn't know what Shilling was really thinking, but he felt that this was what Shilling might be thinking.
After all, even a mayor as powerful as Financier cannot contact his son. Is there really enough room in such a big blood moon to accommodate a parent and child?
"Is that so?" said Varcas. "Is that what Varcas is like?"
Ash realized something: "Valcas, you..."
The female elf sheathed her sword, looked around, and went to sit on a relatively large rock. Seeing this, Ash could no longer maintain his fighting state, so he went over and sat down cross-legged.
"What do you want to know?"