Once the sun crests the horizon, trumpets sound as the army of Godrick soldiers and Leyndell knights led by D charges into summonwater village. The three Leyndell knights lead the charge, holy power infused into their weapons as the tidal wave of soldiers slams into the fields of shambling undead.
The undead soldiers turn towards the sound of a hundred footfalls and find an army bearing down on them. Though unlike in life, they need no strategy or tactics to win. Instead they charge at their enemies in a disorderly wave of shambling corpses, relying more on overwhelming numbers and their revival capabilities unique to those that live in death.
The battlefield soon devolved into an all out melee, the Godrick soldiers making quick work of the undead only for their bodies to reassemble and stab them in the back. What looked like an overwhelming victory quickly turned into a nightmare…
But just as the soldier's morale was beginning to crumble, D strides into the center of the battlefield, his sacred seal tightly grasped in his hand. He puts his arms close to his chest before splaying them out, a wave of holy energy washing over the entire battlefield as he casts litany of proper death.
Once the wave passes through the clashing armies, the undead that were in the process of reforming disintegrate into motes of runes while the remaining undead stagger backwards in pain and fear. The soldiers yell at the top of their lungs as they surge forward and cut down the remaining undead in their path.
While the army is keeping the undead busy, Ray has already cleaved his way through the horde and is currently engaged in battle with the mariner. The undead boatman continuously summons undead whilst sending waves of brackish water infused with death magic in all directions.
With no easy way to approach the mariner, Ray uses his heightened agility to scale a stone wall and leap into the air, his sword flashing with golden light as he slashes the mariner from above. The arc of holy energy strikes the mariner in the chest, causing it to scream at a pitch no living being could recreate before teleporting to another section of the city.
Ray is forced to clear some of the undead from his path as he chases the mariner down, though it now knows the danger of letting him get too close and starts to teleport constantly to keep a distance between them.
With frustration etched into his features, Ray darts into a nearby building and quickly chugs a flask of cerulean tears whilst trying to formulate a plan to kill the mariner once and for all. He does a quick scan of his inventory when he sees something that brings a large wolfish grin to his face.
Ray darts away from his hiding spot and continues his chase of the mariner, keeping track of each location he teleports to. Once he has a good idea of where he will go next, Ray sets something near a large pillar of stone bricks before baiting the mariner to teleport once more.
Once the mariner appears near the pillar, Ray pulls out his crossbow and fires, aiming for the basket full of explosive stones he placed there earlier. The impact of the arrow sets off an explosive chain reaction that sends the pillar toppling down towards the mariner.
With no time to teleport away, the mariner is crushed by the falling stone bricks, dealing significant damage and even shattering the spectral boat that it rides. Ray runs forward and slashes at the mariner over and over, each flash of holy light bringing it closer and closer to a proper death.
With one final stab to the chest the mariner disintegrates into a whirlwind of runes far larger than any Ray has seen before, his rune count skyrocketing from 20,000 to over 35,000. He also receives a deathroot and the skeletal militiamen ashes.
Ray takes the deathroot out of his inventory and holds it in his hand, the scent of death and decay filling his nostrils. He grimaces before putting it back into his inventory just as D walks up to him.
"You show promise in weeding deathroot, Tarnished. How would you like to earn the strength of beasts? If you're inclined to hunt those that live in death, and weed their deathroot, then I'll introduce you to Gurranq, the beast clergyman."
Ray looks at D, his twinned armor caked in mud and bone dust.
"Where would I find this clergyman?"
D pulls out a map and points to the location. "Just behind the third church of Marika is a wayshrine, a gateway to places beyond. Place your hand upon the gateway and you will arrive at the doors of the bestial sanctum. Offer the deathroot that you collect to Gurranq and he will bestow upon you the strength of beasts."
Ray thinks for a moment, wondering what the consequences of taking this power will be. He didn't truly think about it until now, but he has already connected himself to the primeval current, even if only shallowly. If the sorcerers of the marvel universe sense his use of glintstone sorceries, they just might label him as a dimensional invader.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Ray nods to D. "I still have a few errands to run in Limgrave. When I have the time, I shall make my way to the sanctum."
Beneath his mask, D smiles, a genuine feeling that he has not felt in many years. "Then I welcome you, as a brother in arms. I still have my own matters to attend to as well. I have found the mark of the centipede in this village. An ill omened symbol that should not be. Someone, or something, threatens the sanctity of the golden order, and must be eradicated…"
With that, D turns around and stalks away, the remaining soldiers leaving in a loose formation towards Stormveil castle. Ray watches them leave, wondering if this world is truly real, or just a more realistic version of the game…
*Slap*
Ray slaps himself in the face. "Get a grip, Ray. Don't think too hard and just go with the flow. Things will make sense eventually…"
While Ray is talking to himself, he sees movement out of the corner of his eye. He turns to look and sees a large turtle shuffling around without a care in the world. Ray chuckles softly before turning to leave the village, though he only takes a few steps before he turns around and stares at the turtle once again.
A fleeting memory of the game reminds him about the green turtle talisman, a very strong talisman for the early game as it gives a sizable boost to stamina recovery speed. And sure enough, he finds a bale of turtles surrounding a stairway blocked by a stonesword key fog gate.
(Yes, that is what a group of turtles is called. I didn't have to look it up or anything, you have no proof…)
Ray grimaces, realizing that he has yet to find a stonesword key. The only one he knows about is somewhere in the dragon-burnt ruins guarded by Agheel.
Ray strokes his chin in contemplation for a few moments before remembering something.
"Patches!!! He sells stonesword keys and Margit's shackle. I can't believe I forgot about him…"
Before Ray leaves summonwater village, he sits down at a site of grace and uses some of his runes to increase his vigor from 12 to 15 and his intelligence from 10 to 14, making sure to save some runes for purchasing goods from Patches.
Unlike what he was expecting, increasing his intelligence didn't cause any noticeable effect. It wasn't until he started thinking about some of his previous lessons that he started to pick up on things that previously eluded him.
The increase to his vigor gave his skin a more healthy sheen and added some color to his otherwise pale skin. Ray scratches his chin as he wonders how he will look when his vigor reaches the 50's.
Not wanting to waste anymore time daydreaming, Ray summons Torrent and heads off to murkwater cave, still making sure to avoid provoking Agheel before galloping into a shallow riverway that heads north from Agheel lake.
Just when he spots the opening to the cave, Torrent vanishes, causing Ray to nearly fall face first into the river. He quickly reorientates himself and looks around in confusion before realizing that someone is sprinting towards him.
Ray dives to the side as an arc of blood cleaves through the air where he was standing just moments before. He looks up and sees a mysterious person cloaked in an aura of pure red that hides their features.
Ray quickly pulls out his sword and sends an arc of golden light at the figure, his foe easily dodging the attack and responding in kind. After dodging a few more bloody slashes, Ray pulls out his glintstone staff and switches between casting glintstone pebble and slashing at the figure with his sword, doing his best to keep a safe distance from their blood-soaked dagger.
His strategy, while effective on most of the enemies he has faced before, is completely ineffective against a competent opponent. The red figure suffers a few hits from the glintstone pebbles before dodging out of the way of the rest. He also manages to drink from his flask in a short interlude between Ray's attacks.
The momentum of the battle changes rapidly as the figure darts forward and slashes wildly at Ray's torso, leaving a multitude of slash marks in his armor and causing a massive buildup of the bleed debuff.
Ray backs off and drinks from his flask of crimson tears to restore his health just before taking another blow from a bloody slash. The bleed buildup reaches its limit, causing a fountain of blood to gush from Ray's eyes, mouth, nose, and ears.
Ray desperately rolls away, the murky water washing some of the blood from his body as he tries to make some distance from his foe. He takes another swig from his flask as his mind goes into overdrive trying to find a way out of his current predicament. And in a flash of inspiration, He finds a way to turn the tables.
With a devilish smile on his face, Ray charges at the figure, his left hand that was holding his staff suspiciously empty. The figure meets his charge, his bloody dagger flashing as he aims for Ray's chest once more.
Just before the dagger makes contact with his skin, Ray crouches and shifts to the side unnaturally, his sword slashing the figure along his stomach. Not wanting to waste this chance to end the fight, Ray shifts once more, jabbing his Erdsteel dagger into the back of the figure's neck and twisting the handle.
Like a puppet with its strings cut, the figure falls to the ground lifeless, his body dissolving into a swirl of runes. Ray falls on his butt, taking in large gulps of air to calm his beating heart.
"Hah… Hah… I forgot… About this bitch… At least I had the Erdsteel dagger with the quickstep ash of war, otherwise I might have been done for. Wasn't there supposed to be someone else here to help me fight him? Hah…"
Ray looks around as he catches his breath and is startled by a man standing just a few feet away. The man is wearing a strange hat that almost looks like one of those straw hats that samurai wear except this one is made of metal. He also has a sword on his waist that is clearly a katana.
"Ah, you must be the new tarnished that's been running about. To have fought Nerijus and lived, you must have seen your share of battle. I am Yura, hunter of bloody fingers."
Ray slowly stands up, the water on his clothes magically disappearing. "So you enjoyed the show did you?"
Yura chuckles. "You looked like you could handle it. I can't be coddling the newblood, that and you needed the practice. If you stay the path, you are sure to run into more bloody fingers. Tarnished held in thrall by cessblood. Zealots who stalk their own kin. The next time you face one, don't let your emotions stay your blade."
Ray nods. "There are more of the fuckers around? Great… I will keep my eye out for them."
Yura nods. "As you should… Now, a final word of advice. Stay clear of Agheel lake. A great dragon roosts there, and it is as fearsome as it is majestic. So, unless you're mad, or wish to be burned alive, stay clear of the lake."
Ray looks south towards the lake. "I shall keep your words in mind… I may have to slay Agheel in the future, but I shall prepare thoroughly beforehand."
Yura stares at the tarnished with a chilly gaze. "Seems I am forever crossing paths with hotheads like you… I can tell you want to see it through." Yura chuckles. "Fools will be fools. Fight all the dragons you wish…"
With that, Yura turns and walks farther north, leaving Ray to his own devices. Ray shakes his head and sighs before pulling out the spectral whistle and calling for Torrent. The horse appears in front of him, his snout rubbing against his arm affectionately.
Ray lightly pats Torrent on the head. "It's alright, buddy. Just maybe give me a heads up before you disappear like that."
Ray feeds a few rowa raisins to Torrent before letting him return and heading into murkwater cave.
**********
(Author's note)
Sorry for the delay everyone, I was getting a bit demotivated and haven't wanted to write for a while. It did help me when I looked at your comments and saw how much you appreciate my novel, so thank you so much for your support.
So something I would like to bring up is that I will continue to write at my own pace and prioritize quality over quantity in terms of chapters. my previous novel fell short of my expectations because I rushed to get chapters out and caused a lot of stress to build up. this problem will be avoided at all costs on my part so that I will continue writing with passion and dedication.
now onto the less gloomy stuff...
I have a few ideas about the far future of the novel and was wondering what the readers would like. So I have a few questions that I would like to ask you about the future of the novel.
Does the power level of the MC seem reasonable at the moment?
Do the fights seem realistic in turns of my MC's skill level? keep in mind that any weapon he wields he has a decent understanding of its use just from holding it.
Have the NPC's and marvel characters been represented properly? and of not, how would I improve in this regard.
The Elden ring world has been altered to have some more realistic aspects whilst keeping as close as possible to the original. What are your thoughts on the world in general?
anything else you can think of that can be improved in turns of writing, storytelling, lore, ETC.
Now lets get to the future content...
The MC has a world traveler skill yet only has two worlds so far. So lets get to the world ideas.
How would the MC unlock a new world?
Would you be ok with him traveling to a non-combat or minimal combat world along the lines of Stardew Valley? either a small arc of a few chapters minimum.
for the more violent worlds I was thinking about borderlands starting from BL1 or halo but I would like your opinions.
and finally, should I allow the MC to take people along with him when he travels between worlds?
alright, that is all from me today. I hope you have a fantastic day and Stay Awesome!!!