(Thanks to reader 20230813151604024 for the recommendation tickets!
Also: this chapter is mainly about game content. If you're not interested, you can go straight to the next chapter. It won't affect your experience of the story going forward.
I still hope you'll give it a look!!!)
"Tarnished, I didn't expect we'd meet again so soon."
Lin Huai looked at Malenia's face, not yet ravaged by rot.
Her skin was smooth and lustrous as jade, and her lips held a faint blush.
What a pity. Such a beautiful woman, made to suffer beneath a curse like this.
"Your thoughts seem rather complicated, Tarnished. What are you feeling sorry about?"
At the sound of Malenia's puzzled voice,
Lin Huai's heart skipped a beat.
"You can sense my thoughts?"
Malenia fell silent for a moment, as if considering the question.
"I can't. I'm not skilled in matters of the mind."
"However, when you're unprepared, I can roughly sense what you're thinking."
Hearing that Malenia couldn't sense his exact thoughts, Lin Huai felt relieved.
Malenia tilted her head slightly.
"You're feeling very relaxed right now. Tarnished, have you done something bad?"
Seeing this big sister's head tilt was pretty cute, too!
But when he heard that Malenia could sense his thoughts again,
Lin Huai's expression stiffened.
Clear your mind. Clear your mind.
He spoke with a serious expression. "Malenia, even though we're now bound together in life and death, I still need some privacy."
"From now on, don't sense my thoughts without my permission."
Malenia nodded, a little perplexed.
"You're a strange Tarnished."
"But I understand. I won't sense your thoughts without permission again."
Only then did Lin Huai feel completely at ease.
Looks like I'll need to make myself a body later. Otherwise, when I'm off enjoying a night with another beauty, I'll have someone watching from the sidelines.
Lin Huai looked at her exquisitely shaped figure. Maybe being watched would be kind of exciting?
He put aside these untimely thoughts.
Lin Huai sat cross-legged in front of Malenia.
"My name is Lin Huai. You can call me by my name from now on, or just Ah Huai."
"Your name is a little long, so I'll call you Lianlian."
"How does that sound?"
Malenia replied flatly, "It's just a name. Call me whatever you like."
At this rather affectionate form of address,
unseen by Lin Huai, a faint blush crept across Malenia's ears.
Lin Huai took the opportunity to ask a question:
"Is there no better way to deal with the Scarlet Rot inside us?"
"Can't we seal it, or get rid of it altogether?"
Malenia's somewhat hollow voice rang out.
"It can be sealed, but nothing in this world is capable of doing so.
Even the so-called 'gods' of this world can't resolve it."
The Sea of Consciousness fell silent.
Malenia's voice rang out again.
"When I was young, my swordsmanship teacher sealed the Scarlet Rot within me with Sword Intent."
"According to this world's classifications, mastery in this area can roughly be divided into Micro-Perception, Force, Intent, and Domain.
After I mastered Waterfowl Dance, I must have developed my own Blade Intent through Flowing Water Sword Technique."
When Lin Huai heard "Waterfowl Dance," his body suddenly shuddered.
He remembered some unpleasant experiences.
Seeing Malenia tilt her head again,
So cute.
Lin Huai kept his expression straight.
"It's nothing. Something unpleasant just came to mind. Go on."
"My guess is that as long as you master Flowing Water Sword Technique to the level of 'Intent,' you can completely suppress the Scarlet Rot before it fully erupts."
Lin Huai pondered this.
He thought of Lianlian's second phase in the game, with those wanton, fluttering butterflies of rot, and that powerful, somewhat lewd appearance.
"Unfortunately, the Scarlet Rot inside me had already fully erupted once before I mastered Blade Intent.
Afterward, I used that power again."
Malenia looked at Lin Huai, her tone very serious.
"Lin Huai, don't overuse the power of rot before you develop your own understanding of Flowing Water Sword Technique."
When Lin Huai heard "Flowing Water Sword Technique," a line from a guide suddenly flashed through his mind.
"A door hinge never rusts, and flowing water never grows stagnant?" (Actually, it's the other way around, but this fits better here.)
A rare note of surprise entered Malenia's voice.
"I didn't expect you to be not only strong, but so knowledgeable as well."
"Looks like you'll master the sword technique faster than I thought."
Lin Huai scratched his cheek.
Suddenly, he remembered that Lianlian's attacks in the game could also "heal" her.
He stared at Malenia, anticipation in his voice.
"What about that ability of yours that can drain my life force?"
"That was the effect of a Great Rune. I have one now, too, but you can't use it."
"The Great Rune is inside me. If you summon me to fight, you should receive Soul Power in return."
Malenia sensed around herself before replying to Lin Huai.
Then she seemed to remember something.
Malenia spoke quickly. "Lin Huai, you died later than I did."
"Do you know whether Miquella became a god?"
Lin Huai thought of Mitaen's bizarre "Santiago" appearance.
He also remembered that he had killed both siblings.
He replied, somewhat awkwardly,
"Well... Mitaen—no, Miquella."
"I ran into him later."
"He succeeded in combining Mohg's body with General Radahn's soul."
Remembering Mitaen's utterly broken combat strength, Lin Huai felt a pang of emotion.
"Then, combined with Miquella's own abilities, he was ridiculously strong."
"But you know, there can't be two lords in the Lands Between."
"After going through untold hardships, and even borrowing power from beyond this world, I finally defeated them."
Three in one. They were so powerful that I had to join the Fling Trainer Sect just to win.
Lin Huai felt Malenia's presence suddenly grow despondent.
He hurried to make amends.
"But you can't really consider him the same brother you once knew."
Seeing Malenia look at him again,
Lin Huai continued to make amends.
"On the path to godhood, he kept casting off his physical body. In the end, even his 'love' was discarded."
"When he and Radahn finally passed through the Gate of Divinity, all that remained of him was a faint spirit."
"The part of him that loved you begged me to stop him from becoming a god.
That's why I..."
Looking at Lin Huai's anxious eyes,
and sensing the concern in his voice,
Malenia gave a fleeting smile.
"I know. My brother took the wrong path. It wasn't your fault."
"I just regret that he didn't achieve his dream."
"If my brother is reborn in another world, I hope he can escape that curse that keeps him from ever growing up!"
Seeing that faint smile, Lin Huai barely heard what Malenia had said.
"Don't dwell on it. We've both been given another life, so we can do what we want and experience a different kind of life. What do you think?"
"I used to live for my brother. Now that I have to make a change, I don't know what to do."
Lin Huai's eyes lit up.
"In that case, live for me in this life. Become my blade."
"From now on, you can say:
'I am Malenia. Blade of Lin Huai.'!"
"What do you think? What do you think?"
Feeling Lin Huai's playful antics and hearing the anticipation in his voice,
"To become Lin Huai's blade, you're not good enough yet."
"Keep working at it. Let me see whether you can recapture your former glory in this world."
Watching Lin Huai's exaggerated, excited gestures, she felt some of the sadness in her heart wash away.
Remembering some of the incantations her brother Miquella had taught her,
Malenia spoke again:
"I also know some Golden Order incantations. Miquella taught them to me."
"You can try practicing them. It's always good to have another way to face your enemies."
Hearing that he could also learn some incantations,
Lin Huai wanted to hug Malenia and kiss her.
In this world, where Self-Created Soul Skills were scarce,
these incantations could easily be used as Self-Created Soul Skills.
"The herbs you were refining have almost finished taking effect. You should be waking up soon."
"Remember to practice Flowing Blade Technique diligently."
"As soon as your spiritual power makes another breakthrough, you'll be able to enter this Sea of Consciousness whenever you want."
This conversation had not only given Lin Huai a concrete way to counter the Scarlet Rot,
but also several incantations equivalent to Self-Created Soul Skills.
Lin Huai beamed. "Goodbye, Lianlian. I don't think it'll be long before we meet again."
"I hope so."
"Goodbye."
Before you continue