I Have to Survive

Death was a heavy subject. People always thought it was far removed from them, but when death truly descended upon them, they realized in shock just how suddenly it had arrived.

Lucian was just an ordinary person. Although his parents had divorced early on and each started new families, they had at least decently left him a tiny apartment. Raised healthily with the support of relatives, he attended an ordinary university and found an easy job close to home after graduation. He hardly needed to communicate with anyone. The pay was not high, but the hours were short, leaving him plenty of time to play games after work.

Since he did not have to pay rent, he gradually saved up quite a bit of money. Aside from everyday food and clothing expenses, nearly all of it went toward gaming. By his twenty-eighth birthday, he had acquired nearly every gaming device imaginable, from Xboxes to PlayStations, and turned his bedroom into a gaming room.

Naturally, he had installed a brain-computer interface as soon as it came out. Unfortunately, it was also because of that interface that his life had ended at twenty-nine.

Because of his childhood family circumstances, Lucian had turned to games for emotional refuge at an early age. Whenever something happened in his life, he hid in virtual game worlds for shelter. The virtual world was where he belonged—or so he had once believed.

It was not as though he had never imagined death, but he had never expected it to come this way, at this moment, so suddenly.

"Please, whoever you are, let me go back..."

Yet the Chapel of Anticipation remained desolate and cold. Only the statue on the wall watched him with indifference.

In these Lands Between, where hope had long since vanished, everyone struggled merely to look after themselves. No one would answer his call.

Lucian knew it was impossible to wait for such a miracle. He simply needed an outlet.

"There's no way I can survive in a world like Elden Ring..."

"But I don't want to die again. I want to live."

"I have to survive."

Lucian thought about many things. He had yet to fully accept reality, but staying in the Chapel of Anticipation meant nothing more than waiting for death.

He laid the Maiden's body flat on the ground, then placed her hat over her face. That was the greatest respect he could offer her.

After arranging the Maiden's remains, Lucian found the last item in the room: Tarnished's Wizened Finger.

Once he had thoroughly searched the room, Lucian took stock of what he had on him: a helmet with a damaged visor that could not be removed, a full suit of armor that was weathered but still reliable, a straight sword, a halberd, a medium metal shield, two stone keys shaped like swords in the pouch at his waist, a packet of white meat slices, two pieces of jerky, some scattered Runes, and the Tarnished's Wizened Finger he had picked up last.

Aside from the extra meat and Runes, this was the standard Vagabond Knight starting set from the game. If he really had been transported here, it was only reasonable that he would have food and Runes for travel expenses.

After taking stock of his supplies, Lucian felt grim. It was only a tiny bit better than a game start, and that tiny bit was practically negligible. All he could do now was take things one step at a time.

He pushed open the main doors, and light poured into the room, finally bringing a trace of brightness. Yet the cloud-choked sky and the storm that never dispersed seemed like ominous signs.

The open vista before him did not make Lucian happy, because he knew what sort of opponent he would soon have to face.

That was the Grafted Scion, a genuine elite enemy in the game. In terms of game stats alone, it could even beat their boss, Grafted Godrick, until he could not fight back at all.

If this had been a game, Lucian would have had many ways to defeat it. But now, he had to challenge it with this human body of his.

He knew absolutely nothing about fighting.

Besides, even if he really won, the Chapel of Anticipation had been built in the middle of the sea. He would still have to jump off a cliff to leave. The game's protagonist could revive endlessly, but Lucian might not be able to. He had no desire to test it with his precious life.

When it came down to it, Lucian did not even know whether he had truly been transported somewhere, or whether this was merely a fantasy before death.

"Have I really been transported? I'm afraid I'll have to wait until I learn sorcery, incantations, or some other skill with power before I can know."

"If I can truly feel supernatural power, rather than just activating skills with buttons, maybe that will prove I'm really alive."

As Lucian stepped outside, he suddenly remembered that there were two important items from the game behind the side door nearby. According to the game's progression, he had to teleport back after leaving this isolated building before he could obtain them, so he should not have been able to get them now.

But the Maiden's hat had set a precedent. He wanted to try, so he went to the side door and pulled its ring handle, attempting to open it. It still would not budge.

However, the wooden door looked as though years of wear had already made it less sturdy.

Lucian first took out the halberd strapped to his back. A halberd combined the traits of a spear and an axe, and he wanted to try using its axe blade to chop the door apart. But after raising it and testing the angle, he realized it was too long. The side door was wedged between two walls, and using it would inevitably make it strike the walls. He did not want to damage his weapon in a place like this.

So Lucian drew his straight sword. He did not plan to use the sword in the upcoming battle. The Grafted Scion was huge and extremely agile, and the longer halberd would be better for attacking it. Therefore, it did not matter even if the sword suffered some damage now.

Lucian gripped the sword with both hands, stepped forward with his left foot, twisted his waist, and swung down with force. The swift diagonal slash shattered the wooden door in a single blow.

"What's going on? My body is so Dexterous—is this this body's muscle memory?"

Lucian was startled by the strike himself. Someone who had never touched a sword in his life had delivered such a smooth, flowing slash. Behind that muscle memory must have been countless grueling training sessions. As expected of a Tarnished, descendant of warriors.

Lucian carefully inspected the straight sword. Seeing no obvious damage, he sheathed it and stepped inside.

After climbing a mere twenty or thirty steps, he saw a ruined terrace. At the edge closest to the sky sat a small stone box. It contained the Spirit Ashes of the Stormhawk, Ancient King.

In the distant past, the Storm Lord ruled the southwest of the Lands Between, and the Stormhawks were one of his formidable armies. Though they were hawks, the strongest among their race possessed combat strength equal to human heroes. They circled through storms, summoned Storms, and tore apart every enemy. The Stormhawk, Ancient King, had been the king of the Stormhawk flock, so naturally his ashes rested closest to the sky.

Lucian walked forward, preparing to pick up the ash box. But as he approached, the unending storm above the Chapel of Anticipation suddenly intensified violently, only to subside again after a few seconds, as though it had all been an illusion.

Lucian waited another few seconds. When nothing else happened, he stepped forward and placed the ash box in his bag.

Lucian thought it was merely an ordinary change in the weather, but he did not know that even time could not erase the Ancient King's pride. Anyone without the qualities of a king could never receive the Ancient King's recognition, and not everyone could reach the Chapel of Anticipation.

Spirit Ashes were a type of item in the game. With another item, one could summon the souls within the ashes to assist in battle.