Flask of Crimson Tears, Upgrade

In the end, Melina spoke first.

"Um, what happened to you?"

Melina asked cautiously.

"Sorry, I lost my composure. Seeing you reminded me of someone I once knew, and I ended up spacing out."

Lucian forced his uncontrollable emotions down into his heart and casually made up a lie to brush it off.

Melina nodded. It seemed a little strange, but it also sounded reasonable.

"Oh, I see. You must have been very close."

"Yes. She was my Maiden. We traveled together and overcame countless hardships. I thought those days could continue forever, but she sacrificed herself for me."

Melina did not know that Lucian was actually talking about her. She only assumed it was a story about Lucian and the Maiden he had once traveled with.

"I'm sorry to hear that. But if you are still pursuing the Elden Ring, then you have no choice but to keep moving forward, don't you?"

Lucian nodded.

"What do you mean?"

Seeing that Lucian seemed to have calmed down, Melina breathed a sigh of relief and began explaining why she had come.

"Just as I said earlier, I want to make a deal with you."

"I mean no offense, but you do not have a Maiden by your side right now..."

Melina had been watching Lucian's expression the whole time. Only after seeing that he was not angry at the mention of having no Maiden did she continue.

"I can fulfill a Maiden's duty in her place and turn Runes into your strength."

"As long as you still seek the Elden Ring, this will surely be of help to you."

"In return, I hope you will help me and take me to the foot of the Erdtree."

"What do you think?"

Lucian had no reason to refuse, but he still pretended to consider it for a while before agreeing.

"Though I do not know who you are, this does not seem harmful to me."

"So you accept?"

"Yes. My name is Lucian. I look forward to working with you, my Maiden."

The corners of Melina's lips curled into a faint smile.

"Then we have an agreement. Whenever you need to turn Runes into strength, simply call for me at a Grace."

Lucian's heart pounded fiercely as he looked at Melina's smile.

In his previous life, Melina had been teased for being stiff as wood. She always wore a serious, unsmiling expression, but now, when she smiled, she was as beautiful as a melting glacier.

Seeing such a breathtaking contrast, Lucian truly felt that he could die without regrets.

"Can we turn the Runes into strength now?"

Melina nodded and extended her hand toward Lucian.

"It will only take a moment. Let me touch you."

Seeing the burn scars covering Melina's pale, delicate hand, Lucian's heart ached.

But Melina thought Lucian was bothered by the scars on her hand. Her fingers trembled slightly as she began to pull it back, growing less confident.

"Sorry. It is ugly, isn't it? Next time, I will wear gloves."

But Lucian suddenly reached out and caught the hand Melina was trying to withdraw. Melina stiffened like a startled fawn.

Huh? Why was this person so practiced at taking her hand? Was this a normal reaction to seeing scars?

Melina's hand was small, easily covered by Lucian's palm.

"Not at all. You must have gone through a great deal of pain, but from now on, I will protect you. I promise."

"I will not lose my Maiden a second time."

Melina lowered her head, not letting Lucian see her expression.

Only after a while did she nod and let out a faint "Mm."

Melina took a deep breath, trying her best to slow her pounding heartbeat.

Lucian's action had startled her so badly that her mind had completely crashed. She had not even remembered to pull her hand away.

This is bad. Torrent seemed to have found a strange person.

No, wait. Hadn't she been the one who asked him to touch her hand?

Melina raised her head, seemingly returning to her usual calm. But Melina knew that she was nowhere near as calm as she appeared.

"Next, I will help you turn your Runes into strength. Please do not resist."

Melina drew the golden Runes from Lucian's body and gathered them in her hand.

"You currently have over 2,200 Runes, enough to raise two attributes."

"I can distribute the power formed from your Runes among vigor, mind, endurance, strength, dexterity, intelligence, faith, and arcane."

"Now, please choose where you wish to allocate that power."

"Raise my vigor and dexterity."

Melina nodded to show that she understood.

The golden Runes slowly flowed back from Melina's hand. But unlike before, Lucian felt the energy seep directly into his flesh, binding firmly with it and becoming impossible to separate again.

Lucian had chosen these two attributes after careful consideration.

When Melina had just asked him how he wanted to distribute them, a level-up panel had suddenly appeared before him, allowing him to see his attributes:

Vigor: 15,

Mind: 10,

Endurance: 11,

Strength: 14,

Dexterity: 13,

Intelligence: 9,

Faith: 9,

Arcane: 7.

These were the starting attributes of a knight. His vigor, strength, and dexterity were all high, with no obvious weaknesses.

His relatively low intelligence, faith, and arcane were not particularly important attributes at the moment.

What Lucian needed most right now was a margin for error, enough to activate the margin for error provided by Wind Spirit Moon Shadow.

The automatic Invincibility that had triggered against the Grafted Scion could only happen once. Every time after that, he would have to activate it himself.

So, higher vigor would make Lucian less likely to be killed instantly, while dexterity would make it easier for him to evade and attack in battle, striving for flawless victories.

The transfer ended quickly. His vigor and dexterity on the panel had become 16 and 14 respectively.

"That is all. Your Runes have been turned into strength, but please keep in mind that as your strength increases, the number of Runes required will also continue to rise."

Lucian released her hand, only to realize with a sudden pang of sadness that this was the first time he had ever held a girl's hand.

Melina then took several items from beneath her cloak and held them out to Lucian.

In her left hand was a golden ring emitting a gentle glow. In her right were two golden bottles, one filled with blue liquid and the other with red.

Melina first handed the two bottles to Lucian.

"These are Flask of Crimson Tears containing Tears. They were made in imitation of the legendary Golden Chalice that held the blessed Tears. The red one can heal your wounds, while the blue one can restore your focus."

"There is no need to conserve them. Every time you rest at a Grace, the Tears will be replenished."

Lucian accepted them and carefully placed them in his bag. These were things that could save his life.

Melina then handed Lucian the ring in her left hand.

"When you need to travel a long distance, please use this ring. It can be used as a whistle. Blow it, and you can summon the spirit steed named Torrent."

"Torrent likes you very much. I hope you will treat him well."

Lucian solemnly accepted the ring and slipped it onto the ring finger of his left hand, where he had just removed his gauntlet.

The relationship will not heat up too quickly, but I had to at least make a start. (Really, I just wanted to write Melina acting shy.)