He has decided on what to do, with barely 300 souls to his name he could level up, offer no souls to the bonfire and the first flame as a sacrifice to burn so that its majestic shimmer would be a marvel for aeons to come, with the reward of well upgrading his being as blessing.
Still, all the time would go into intelligence and attunement. He wouldn't need health or stamina or something like strength. With two heavy front-liners in the party, they could soak up all the damage.
He would stay in the back and ride the bus. Well, what does one expect from a demon's great hammer? Still, the souls of the Demoness could have been nice, but killing her might even have been a shame.
Should he really have symphony for a demon, well maybe that was a loaded question considering that the demon was a slave maybe he could recruit her later, when he was confident in killing her with a wave of his stave.
What were Elekta and Oskara doing nothing much sitting around and most likely barely a thought between their eyes typical undead, while not stupid far too stunted most of the time in all mental aspects, well being made an undead wasn't pleasant to be fair.
What to do, if he got a scroll and somebody translated the texts for him he could learn the language and then do it himself maybe, well sorceries were weaponizing your own soul and fighting with it, well there were still miracles straight up reality warping by believing this totally works, not even divine might was in play there just human make belief powerful enough to tell you no you aren't dead but that works generally better on creatures immortal anyway.
And pyromancies that need a teacher and a flame to be given all would take time to learn and achieve, nothing he can do about it besides use firebombs and obsessively collect everything not nailed down like the two dark things inside the corpse over there. It might have been a corpse and he just took the primordial connection the spirit and body once held with their ancestor that granted them immortality or an undead and eventually, it would rise again but as a mindless hollow. Could he put it back in he didn't know how he didn't even understand how he absorbed them, much less how he absorbed the souls of the fallen?
It was time to move on but before that, he had to bother all living here besides the fire shrine maiden that attracts enemies from far and wide because she has a lot of humanity and is deaf, blind and mute so no funny reaction to be gotten from her.
The crestfallen one first didn't seem unfriendly but not inviting either, more like an old guard ready to through it all into the wind but not below helping a newbie out with a few words.
"Sup", was the best the mind of the noel at the time could come up, and she reacted.
"What do we have here? A new arrival. A guess fat of the undead, not the first I tell ya. But no salvation here would be better to rot in the Asylum… But too late now."
"Fuck that I was imprisoned in a solitary cell for god knows how long not going back there for the treatment, you can go there if you want, just ask the crow to take you!",
"Ahh, well yes since you are here, let me help you for that blunder, there are two bells of awakening-"
"Yes, yes one in the church protected by the four gargoyles and then one in Quelaag's domain, just past the poison swamp opposite the entrance to the lake of ash, right?"
"Yes, and if you ring them both something happens…..Brili-"
"They just open Sens fortress the place they used to train the knights, the golems arena if I remember right, but god knows what Seath has done to the place now."
"You aren't the usual traveller are you?" suspecting she eyed him, arms correcting posture shifting, she was getting ready to attack the almost naked lunatic.
"Do I look hollow, well neither do you, but I can tell you that I am not a snake from the church's Way of White unlike a certain someone, so that is something!", he told her mockingly.
"Not giving me much to really work with here!", she was
"Well it will have to be enough, for you crestfallen!", more mockery
She almost pulled at her sword before she realized just how much those few simple words riled her up of interacting with someone so human, that they were almost a caricature of it, she had to laugh at herself and the situation she found herself in.
Interacting was not something she did much nowadays, the last arrivals were oddballs but this one was the worst one yet, a diviner a seer, a mind reader, or a charlatan, she couldn't tell and certainly didn't want to know what he had to say about her, at those thought he smiled at her it was a wicked smile if one at all.
"Say if one ever asked you, whispered in your ear to go down the lift right into the heart of the abyss, it would be an ugly being with a heart of both zeal and fervour, willing to manipulate the masses and sacrifice all to have its way don't do as it says."
"You speak of prophecies and yet I know not the one that speaks itself.", she didn't want to hear anymore but was intrigued nonetheless,didn't help that his companions were now turning to them, with sharp eyes at that, she disliked the attention and the man even more.
Offering a hand he told her "Me well I'm Noel pleasure to make your acquaintance.", she took it despite knowing better, and said "Crestfallen that is all that I am now, just Crestfallen.", tired it came out of her stirred memories she wished she couldn't remember that hadn't happened that she could deny.
But here she was sitting all day every day at the shrine it might be the safest place but it wasn't safe by any means almost periodically some hollows would search for the fire keeper's soul, what was she doing with what was left of her live?
Going hollow is just a measure of time, and by the words of the naked fool she might not have all that long anymore. Could she be talked into going out and adventure once more by his words definitely, would she now, no definitely not. Not by the words of a crazy naked person.
Nothing lost nothing gained he just has to try again when he is properly dressed, who can trust a naked lunatic no matter how, should he go and bother the cleric maybe, maybe not or just set out trying to farm some souls so that he can go and bye a few mostly necessary things.
The girls were getting up if not already standing around so to undead burg they went. Or would if the mountain path wasn't terribly narrow at some parts easy ambush positions bomb throwers and fully armoured hollows ready to rip them apart and the hammer Elekta was so proud of could barely be used.
And all these were just the places visible from the shrine to the bridge, this was at least a few hundred times more distance than in the games oh just great just great.
Now the way in that direction alone is going to take ages until the next bonfire even longer.
Well, one has to start somewhere, with a bow over his shoulders broken arrows in his pants cloth, and a broken sword in his hands he would hide behind braver women and leach off the souls of the slain. What was he supposed to do?
"Some hollows were practically waiting for someone to exit the shire, pouncing and jumping at the first who walked up the long stairs to the next platform.
Oskara blocked the low, but the next hollow was already rushing at her, with more hot on his tail. A single well-placed blow would usually end the average under-armoured hollow, but one in almost shining gear with sword and shield.
Her shield would last but for how long, well Elekta managed to get past her and contribute to the fight herself, almost every single swing from her would send the enemies either flying or crushed. Making short work of most of them, until the bomb thrower axe wielder and armoured leaders came running.
Everyone joined the fray, the strongest acting as a shield trying to keep Oskara and Elekta from chipping into the small group while its helpers tried to deal chip damage and test out their range and limits.
Armoured Oskara was dealing a lot better with the situation than a naked Elekta who had to be careful about every blow with a slow weapon not suited for blocking, even Noel was using the bow and his few arrows to keep the fire bomb throwers from contributing. Just a few well-timed ones hitting them and goodbye, see you again after we all revived. Hell, just one might fuck them up already.
As a hollow with a two-handed axe got past Elektas guard and chopped right into her torso, Noel knew he should have negotiated with the clerical spy about healing reality warping, but oh well to be put on hold.
As the axe wielder splattered a tattered Elekta paid it retribution in full back, axe still stuck to in her, made the rest of the fight oh so much harder for her, but she didn't let such a minor annoyance bother her much, simply yanked it out of her and hoped she would get the rest needed to drink an Estus.
Both of her shoulder plates were no further apart than before even if not by too much, it was a grisly sight. She figured the blocking hollow had to go and helped Oskara who was doing her best swarmed, well Noel just had to shoot an arrow and pray it landed on the particularly slow hollow that was trying to fight back with bombs.
An arrow too close and it would bend over to inspect it, having to reraise its arm and aim, plenty of time to properly aim for Noel, even if he had no idea how he was continuously scoring shots, neither did the hollow, but it wouldn't last, Noel had what 5 arrows at the start and now one, the good times were running out, and he was ready to scream block at the girls once the first bomb would be thrown.
With the massive hammer shattering the guard of the armoured hollo commander, Oskara decapitated it, and Noel was ready to throw on the first fit he could find, but better if Elekta wore it.
The rest of the hollows were easy pickings afterwards as long as one continued not to give them an inch in the fight.
Now the bombs were being dropped, and both girls were just looking around and not up, "Dodge" he screamed at them, only for Oskara to real around and turn to him and then back into the bombs trajectory, even Elekta who tried to dodge whatever it was he marked as a threat, she got far too close to the edge of the platform.
As 10 bombs exploded into fireballs, Oskara was thrown off her feet, and rocketed in his direction, head first, Elekta was almost sent over the edge. Bleeding brunt and almost dismembered, she decided to drink her Estus a step away from certain doom.
Oskara on the ground, Elekta drinking it fell upon Noel to take some of the heat, and so he ran trying to reach the upper level before the slow hollow would throw more if it had any, but it seemed to have an entire pouch of them.
Throwing his bow at the creature seemed to confuse it enough for him to get close enough to deliver a blow with his broken sword, not very effective against someone wearing leather armour but good enough, in turn, it too wiped out its weapon.
Too stupid one for thinking he was a fighter, the other for not just throwing a well-placed bomb and ending the fight. Noel just kept up the pressure and hit it whenever it made any larger moves stunning the simple mind and overwhelming its thought process enough for him to just whale away at it.
Time to loot the fallen, Oskara started standing around and the wounds on Elekta closed already after she drank conceptual liquid warmth or was that just light, questions for another time.
Stripping the hollows until the underwear he wound a few curiosities, besides the leather armour he had to practically squeeze himself into, the gender of enemy combatants were all female, and he was going around killing insane women. Or were they Yandere with an anal/ass fetish considering they wanted to reach for the darkness inside of him and eat it.
600 sols obtained enough for a level up and with the souls from before almost enough for a sorcery, but not enough for the staff too actually cast one.
He will need some paper and ink and ask all the merchants for their prices. Finally, he had actual clothes on, it was ripped and bloodied in places wasn't for his size as slim as he was, but clothes and for his shoes he heard that going natural was actually healthy. But no a few sandals taken from his enemies make it a few numbers larger and his toes' going over the edges was still better on all accounts.
Elekta did nothing as he stole from the for the time unconscious or not even in possession of consciousness in the best of times hallows, all women he was robbing of everything besides their underwear would make it easier fighting later if they wouldn't start fighting amongst them self and level up via cannibalism.
Partly disarmed he had had to wonder whether he should take the weapons along with him to trade later or just straight up dump them, to make later fights so much easier.
Well, an axe, clothes and armour as well as those firebombs would have to be enough for the group.
Healed and a breather was enough the group ventured forth once more, now having to be ready that those behind them might resurrect and attack them all over again.
Onwards to more battles, it was. Forward the narrow winding pathways, with ambushes always being an option considering how often humanoids look up, well they were made to look down on upon others not to look up to someone.
Sometimes it would be an archer that warned them of a foreboding attack, or a bomb going off in their midst, they were never safe always hounded. The old plundered armour saved them numerous times, one girl in the front, one in the back and the souls they were receiving just continued to accumulate.
Estus was quickly running out and no new bonfire was in sight and an option had to be taken.
Advance with the aqueduct in sight, but far more undead on the way and then a fight through the city with even more and stronger hollows, or retreat level up rest restock, and visit the hidden merchant in the city below and acquire magic or talk to the spy and acquire miracles it was easy.
Between losing all and possibly die forever or get back here in a few hours stronger than ever, he would sound the alarm and personally lead the retreat.
*Clap*
That got the attention of the girls, "Ok we go back, sacrifice to the fire, restock and on the way to Firelink Shrine we grab all that we can carry ok?", it was a plan and something that would get them further than head first rushing into whatever was before them.
Both girls nodded and the party turned around at that, and not too early as most of the lightly damaged undead were still massively bewildered, just resurrected and recovered from only crushed blows no missing limbs to regrow. Easy souls for the team, shit weapons were deposited straight into the bodies of the enemy undead would take them longer to heal from amputations. Unsure of what to feel from performing quick amputations on crazy ladies and how his twisted mind could spin it before it might cut into his sanity he decided not to rest his mind easy on his acts but also not to think too hard about it.
Morals had to be partially abandoned when anything you kill will resurrect and be from a nuisance to an enemy combatant again and again and again etc..
Well, the souls felt damn good to wring out of almost defenceless immortals, he could most likely not damage their minds anymore even if he tried, for he couldn't hurt something that stopped existing thousands of years ago or so he told himself.
Neither Oskara nor Elekta had any qualms about what to do to the fallen, both saw it almost as clever and a preventive measure against future mass ambushes. He hoped he wasn't just growing a massive threat by disturbing the natural equilibrium the hollows found along with whatever else exists here.
Stick the broken blades through their arms, or limbs best if it goes through several of them, at once so that the damage created when healing or moving is greater, the head would be best but it isn't really a necessity for them anyway, well maybe their eyes were better gone.
Now he went to cutting out the eyes of women he stripped this was getting messed up, if they hadn't tried to eat him his humanity he wouldn't know how to describe this to anyone, both girls mimicked what he did was he the bad influence.
The 'torture' was getting more elaborate the closer they got to the shrine. Bonfire already in sight, and some walking undead too, well they were disarmed already so not that much of a struggle, when you are semi-armed or in Oskaras case fully covered and the best your enemy has a fist, well an unnaturally powerful fist but so were the armours of those smiths.
More souls this was getting addicting, was this what a lord felt when they crushed a peasant rebellion a massive influx of power rushing into them, well it was potential power if he doesn't lose it before converting it.
Eyes popped under his enemy's broken blade it were their own, limbs broken and twisted would that exhaust them more than just making new ones or cutting them off with an unclean cut and having the limb be in close proximity or was it better to just remove it altogether, his 'victims' couldn't tell him how to better torture him but he would find a way and if not he would get really creative for them.
And the crestfallen girl still hadn't moved from her spot, and the spy wasn't in view so she was still at her place further back praying for her superiors to let her get back and never to return, well fat chance all sent here were to die and she was no exception just a semi-useful tool until she was spent and broken like all the other undead are eventually, ironic that her main purpose besides spy craft is assassination and that as a healer.
Oh well, he had to go down under. Neither of the girls knew where he would go but followed regardless, having taken just about everything besides the underwear from the last group off hollows he had to make a bit more souls.
Walking past the other mute, this time the mutilated shrine maiden that kept single handily the entire undead operations of the sane on the surface from immediately going tits up. Simply by being so far behind string iron or steel bars that no one can really reach her or kill her so the bonfire she serves as anchor for in a place with unstable relations to time can stay in the same place and not go out even if the bones of the immortals no longer produce as much as they used to on warmth when set on fire.
Both had questions on who that was but they just swallowed it and didn't question it, followed as he disappeared behind the pillars that should mark the end of the platform, descending lower, deep into the earth through a narrow path hammered out of the very mountain this platform was standing on.
Then they saw it in the dark tunnel, a lift, and an elevator well to them it was a strange contraption they couldn't place anywhere. So he had to set foot on it first, well not on the central platform, that would just start the descent, so he walked around it.
Neither wanted to be the second to place their feet upon it, so he said "You can wait here if you want to.", the amount of what they didn't know was unsettling the women and now this, and he had the answers and goddess knows if he would return, could return or would be irrevocably changed without them around and maybe even with them around they couldn't do anything.
Both stepped onto it nothing really happened until he then took a step towards them and stood in the middle of the platform on the circle in its middle, chains whirred past them, and clicks and clacks could be heard from all around, echoing in the chamber.
The four chains started to lower the platform, gradually, steadily and uniform, no corner connecting to the chains was higher than any other, their hearts raced, a death as they plunged into the deaths was easily imaginable, but they held up from moving around, practically frozen in fright at what would happen next until they were encased in stone as the lift started accelerating, creating almost an upwind drift.
Then it slowed and eventually after a few minutes came to a stop, "Welcome to New Londo, the I believe second attempt of a city of the gods meant to be sort of denial of their fading might and grip on power but it was doomed from the start.", his words denied the goddesses their might and powers, it was blasphemy.
If the one listening weren't a mute and the other a loyalist if her vows were to be believed.
So they stepped into the city under the dark, a place so filled with failure that the one fuck up of eternal day had no place here.
A place actually dark and not even artificially at that, it wasn't just dark because there was no light, no the very darkness of the soul or humanity as it was called by the dwarfs a derogatory term used by those dastardly all enslaving gods to put humans in there right full terms and that was all well and fine if he would place himself above them, technically they named the giants giants simply because they were bigger and now the original terms were lost, as no race would even have any meaning associated with those old words, almost a shame.
Unnerved and with their very souls screaming at them about how very much everything was wrong with this situation, they nevertheless followed, maybe a few steps behind and slow, but they followed as Noel descended down more narrow winding stairs.
They were taking in as much as they could of the alien environment.
Arms held ready as they spotted the first hollow, but it didn't react, and neither did they, waiting for signs of trouble ready to crush it, both women, were waiting to attack.
Until Noel waved his hand in a seemingly dismissive motion and simply carried on, both remained rooted to the ground this was a matter of life and death, a single hollow was usually just the scout or a form of primitive alert system.
"This is a place of failure, they have given up and several are actively performing self-harm in various ways trying to end their existence, well you can only guess to have their sun their only light taken away does that to one?", the last parts he said while audible mostly to himself as a cruel depiction of the relationship of undead, purpose and the fuel of humanity they run on.
Anyways he simply carried on the others picked up the weapons they dropped to get into a battle-ready stance, then carried on after the encounter.
He kept wandering around almost aimlessly as he immediately turned to the right and walked along rows of hallows in the process of self-flagellation, the small itself was already causing mass confusion and the fact that the air was incredible still down here wasn't helping.
At the bridge to New Londo it was clear to him he had gone wrong somewhere, the smell or the weight was less the problem than seeing a sunken city and knowing that sometimes they would have to go there.
He sprinted practically along the edges as he saw that he had gone wrong right from the get-go, it was right at the very first few steps past the stairs, and there would be the steps down to his first hidden merchant.
While yes a criminal is also a useful blacksmith and magician. He or she whatever the undead would turn out to be, or was it even an undead, might be imprisoned before this all went to shit and stayed there ever since. Well if he knew where he was before all of this, no no he loves his freedom, not even considering the cell ever again.
There he was, the girls had a bit of a hard time catching up to him, with how fast he ran off, but he was just embarrassed about his sense of direction well it has been a while since he was here, eventually they reached him as they knew what he was searching for and where.