Leave Nothing Behind

Lucian picked up the other Ritual Straight Sword from the ground and examined it carefully.

The fierce thrust against the shield earlier had chipped the tip slightly, but fortunately, it was not too serious.

After putting away the sword, Lucian blew the Spectral Steed Whistle and called Torrent back.

Torrent had already run off to the nearby hillside to eat berries.

Lucian found a tent and tore it apart, then began collecting the weapons and shields scattered across the ground.

He had not looted the soldiers he killed earlier simply because he could not carry everything, but now that he had Torrent, a genuine beast of burden, things were different.

Lucian took stock. There were four standard Lordsworn's Greatshields, two Brass Shields, four Lordsworn's Straight Swords, and two War Picks.

There were also several torches, all heavily used, so Lucian tossed them away.

There had originally been three or four spears as well, but because they posed too great a threat during mounted combat, Lucian had chopped them all apart.

"Oh, I almost forgot. There's one more."

Lucian picked up the Godrick Knight's spear and shield.

Their names appeared before his eyes: Partisan and Golden Greatshield.

The Partisan was a spear with a broad blade. Not only could it thrust, its slashing power was nothing to scoff at.

The Golden Greatshield, meanwhile, was a greatshield used by knights serving Godrick. It was extremely heavy, and more than half of its mottled golden coating had already peeled away.

Lucian definitely could not use all this equipment himself. He might keep a few pieces, but he intended to sell the rest to Kale.

Selling all of it should earn him quite a few Runes.

The armor on their corpses was worth quite a bit too, but Lucian still had some standards. At the very least, he would leave his enemies a shred of dignity.

Next, Lucian came before the enormous carriage parked at Gatefront.

Its towering cabin was painted a deep black, with white candles like those in a graveyard burning atop it.

Lucian knew that these oversized carriages were actually mobile coffins.

Those nobles who were neither truly alive nor dead traveled throughout the Lands Between in such coffins, searching for a way to die and find release.

There seemed to be no one inside. Perhaps the nobles had already set out to seek death, leaving the carriage in this parking area.

Lucian went to the rear of the cabin, where there was a hidden compartment for burial goods.

Since those nobles were not dead in the first place, Lucian felt no guilt whatsoever about taking their grave goods.

Inside was a Greatsword, a Lordsworn's Greatsword.

It was also a standard-issue weapon, but compared to the Lordsworn's Straight Sword, it was longer and heavier. Wielding it one-handed distorted his movements badly; he could only use it properly with both hands.

At the next mobile coffin, Lucian repeated the process and obtained another weapon: a Flail.

A chain was attached to its wooden handle, with a spiked iron ball hanging from it. Its armor-piercing ability looked quite impressive at a glance.

Lucian gave it a try. It seemed his Dexterity was too low, and he nearly struck himself in the face.

I have to test them myself every time to know whether my attributes are enough, and I still can't tell which attribute is lacking. What a pain.

I wonder if a blacksmith can tell me an equipment's required attributes once I meet one.

Lost in thought, Lucian found the final item location at Gatefront.

It was a basement beneath some ruins. After opening the Heavy iron door, he saw a chest resting quietly in the center, faint light seeping through its seams.

Lucian opened the chest, and a violent gust suddenly swept through the cramped basement.

Inside were a small packet of gray, translucent crystals and a Whetstone Knife covered in mysterious markings.

They were the Ash of War—Storm Stomp—and the Whetstone Knife.

An Ash of War could be applied to Standard weapons with the Whetstone Knife, changing a weapon's skill. Besides that, the Whetstone Knife could also alter a weapon's affinity.

Lucian looked thoughtfully at the Ash of War in his hand.

He knew there was nothing special about this ordinary skill. Quite a few people in Stormveil Castle could use it, so it could not possibly have been the source of that sudden gale.

Remembering the storm that had abruptly surged at the Chapel of Anticipation, Lucian took the Spirit Ashes of the Stormhawk—Ancient King—from his bag.

"Was that you? Were you trying to remind me of something?"

Storm Stomp was originally a skill from the same faction as Ancient King, so it did not seem strange that Ancient King would sense it.

But Lucian did not know whether Ancient King was merely reminded of the past and nostalgic for former glory, or whether there was another purpose behind it.

Yet Ancient King gave no further response.

Lucian shook his head. It seemed he could only investigate once he obtained the Spirit Calling Bell.

Lucian returned to the surface and searched carefully, making sure he had stripped Gatefront completely clean.

Only then did he pack up all the equipment. The weight was astonishing.

Just as Lucian tried loading everything onto Torrent's back to have him carry it, Melina could not help appearing.

"Wait, you aren't planning to make Torrent carry all that, are you?"

"There's no way Torrent can carry that much."

Lucian had packed the equipment himself, so of course he knew how heavy it was.

"It can't be helped. It would be such a waste to leave all this equipment behind."

Lucian blinked innocently.

Melina sighed.

"I forgot to tell you yesterday. You can store things at a Grace."

"Oh? That convenient?"

After thinking it over, Lucian felt something was not quite right.

"No, even though not many people can still see Grace now, there are still some. What if they take my things from a Grace?"

"That won't happen."

Melina gathered her thoughts before explaining.

"The space within a Grace is completely separate as well."

"When you are at a Grace, you vanish from the outside world. Even if someone rests at the same Grace as you, neither of you will notice the other."

"And the guidance each person sees is different. For example, I know of a group of Tarnished who serve as Confessors of the church."

"They belong to a church that worships the Two Fingers. After returning to the Lands Between, the guidance they received was to carry out the Two Fingers' tasks rather than become Elden Lord."

Lucian nodded. Since Graces did not interfere with one another, he could rest easy.

"By the way, do Graces have any other uses?"

Lucian was very concerned about whether teleportation was possible in this world.

After all, the map of this world was so vast. Without teleportation, riding back and forth would run a horse's legs ragged.

Melina hesitated. She had not wanted to tell Lucian this so soon, since he had not yet passed her evaluation.

Although Lucian had performed well in the battle just now, his opponent had only been a knight.

Melina knew what terrifying enemies Lucian would face if he wished to become king.

Therefore, he had to possess the resolve to follow Grace and become Elden Lord. That was the most important thing.

As long as he possessed that resolve, Melina would ensure that his strength would rise sooner or later.

But whether he possessed such resolve was not something one or two battles could reveal.

Still, since Lucian had asked, Melina did not conceal it.

"Grace has another important function: it allows you to travel between Graces you have touched before."

"If you wish to use this function, call for me at a Grace, and I will take you there."