Gostoc

"Haha... Tarnished, you're quite something!"

Morgott, the Omen King suddenly laughed, his eyes carrying praise? Reluctance?

Complicated emotions were mixed within it, and Lin Luo could not make out what Morgott, the Omen King meant for the moment.

"Of course..."

Lin Luo said coldly, his blade slicing straight across Morgott, the Omen King's throat.

Yet there was no scene of blood spurting forth as expected.

Morgott, the Omen King's body slowly faded away, turning into starlight that flew toward the Royal Capital.

"Tarnished! We'll meet again in the Royal Capital!"

Morgott, the Omen King left those words behind in the air.

"I'll remember you, Tarnished, one toyed with by the flames of ambition. Fear the darkness lurking in the shadows—'the Omen' will never let you go..."

"Oh... not bad."

Lin Luo laughed. He had thought Morgott, the Omen King would curse him before dying. Hmm... he had been too petty. After all, how could anyone be that disgusting? Right, Godrick?

Godrick: I'll you up

"So it really was Morgott..."

Melina murmured a few words, as though two hazy figures had flashed through her memories.

Melina pondered for a moment before finally giving up on searching further.

"Lin Luo, you're very strong..."

"Of course!"

Lin Luo cocked his lips arrogantly, looking rather like a child seeking praise. It formed a stark contrast to his coldness and calmness in battle.

With the battle over, the runes on Lin Luo had reached an unbelievable amount.

Lin Luo absorbed all the runes into his body. Though his three basic attributes did not seem to have increased, he could clearly sense the location of that threshold.

"Your runes..."

Melina glanced at Lin Luo in surprise. She was not surprised that he could merge runes, but that he had not visibly improved. It was enough to show just how terrifying Lin Luo's strength had become...

"Let's go..."

Lin Luo took a deep breath and naturally wrapped an arm around Melina, his hands landing, quite coincidentally, on her chest...

"You..."

Melina blushed and tried to break free from Lin Luo's embrace.

"Hehe..."

Lin Luo gave a mischievous laugh and swept Melina up into his arms.

Good lord, he had not noticed while she wore those loose robes... This... practice really did prove the truth...

"Lin Luo, let go..."

Melina's voice grew softer as she slowly spoke.

In the end, Lin Luo still put Melina down. Wood was so shy, her face flushed red—what if she caught fire...

Lin Luo still felt somewhat unsatisfied, but he did not make any more excessive moves. He simply held Melina's little hand and headed toward Stormveil Castle.

The path was very close to Stormveil Castle, practically right outside its gates. Yet for some reason, Lin Luo's great battle with Morgott, the Omen King had barely affected the soldiers inside.

Perhaps they were used to such things. After all, they knew there was a monster ahead, one that would crush any Tarnished attempting to lay hands on the Elden Ring. Perhaps they thought the Tarnished from earlier had already died full of resentment.

Lin Luo did not summon Torrent. He simply held Melina's hand and walked slowly onward...

Before long, the two reached the entrance to Stormveil Castle.

A massive portcullis stood at the entrance, and several mangled corpses lay beyond it. Perhaps they had been people meant for grafting, or perhaps Tarnished like Lin Luo.

There was a shabby little room beside the entrance.

Can't find the book by its title? Try searching for the author—it may have simply been renamed!

Lin Luo noticed someone standing in the corner. He was tall and pale, with a huge collar around his neck. Oh, perhaps it was not a collar—he had heard that it was fashionable attire in the Lands Between... but Lin Luo could not appreciate it...

Though Lin Luo had no idea why the man was here, he looked like a strange fellow.

"Excuse me, the one over there, could you come here..."

The strange man spoke in a weak tone, as if he had endured some sort of torture.

Lin Luo did not answer, only looking at him coldly.

The strange man continued, "You're a Tarnished, right? If you want to enter the castle, I advise you not to go through the main gate."

"There's a group of highly skilled soldiers blocking the way there. But don't worry—go in through that cave. The soldiers do not know about that small path. You should be able to infiltrate the castle directly without them noticing..."

"Open the gate!"

Lin Luo said coldly.

"Oh... a very unwise choice. Perhaps you are strong enough, perhaps you can escape, but you should also consider the lady beside you..."

"You sure talk a lot!"

Lin Luo drew his sword and pointed it at Gostoc's head.

Gostoc was scared stiff. Good lord, were Tarnished these days all this reckless??

Gostoc hurriedly raised his hands.

"Ah... no, no, no, sorry! I'll call someone right away. I'll have them open the gate..."

"Then again, it's only right that you'd be suspicious. I respect your choice... but think about it..."

Gostoc slowly lowered his hands, still wanting to say something.

"Shut up! Open the gate!"

Lin Luo was already growing impatient. He knew this thing was no good—he only wanted to follow them and wait for Lin Luo to die so he could steal his runes!

"When someone has set their heart on dying, no one can stop them!"

That should have been Gostoc's line, but he did not dare say it here...

Lin Luo sheathed his sword, gave Gostoc a cold glance, and walked toward the gate...

"Open the gate! Please open the gate! Open the main gate!"

Gostoc's loud voice rang out as he called to the soldiers inside the castle.

Before long, the portcullis rose slowly with a thunderous clank.

"Become Unseen..."

The gate mechanism should have been inside the castle, so there were no soldiers at the entrance. Lin Luo immediately cast a spell, placing an invisibility buff on both of them.

"Night sorcery..."

Melina praised it softly, not looking too surprised. She must have seen such magic before.

Melina seemed to recall something and asked another question.

"That gatekeeper?..."

Melina paused and did not continue, but Lin Luo already understood what she meant.

"That gatekeeper isn't a good person..."

Lin Luo looked at Melina and said, "There are quite a few guards on that small path too. There may be fewer than at the main gate, but he has his own plans. He's waiting to follow behind us and pick up the leftovers, or even... stab us in the back."

"Oh, right. If I remember correctly, he used to be Godrick's loyal servant... He specifically helped Godrick find and capture materials for grafting..."

"If he hadn't been somewhat useful just now, I would've sliced him apart!"

Lin Luo spoke calmly. In truth, there was another reason he did not mention: Melina was beside him, and he did not want to leave her with the impression that he killed indiscriminately. Even if he explained it clearly, there would still be a barrier between them.

Melina nodded as well. So that was indeed the case...

After the two left, Gostoc revealed a resentful expression.

"Lowly Tarnished, how dare you!"

Gostoc snorted and ran into the castle by way of the side path.