Departure

"Alright, we're here."

"?"

Lucian blinked. A second ago, he had been holding Melina's hand.

Then, just a mere second or two later, Melina announced they had arrived.

"Really? I don't feel a thing at all."

Melina glanced sidelong at Lucian.

"I do not make jokes of that sort."

"No, it's just... that was way too fast."

Lucian stood up. The space around the Grace receded, and the surrounding crumbling ruins alongside a shocked Kale proved that this was indeed the Church of Elleh.

When Lucian turned back around, Melina's figure had already vanished.

Lucian stepped into the space of the Grace once more and dragged that enormous pack of equipment right over to Kale:

"Uh, should I say long time no see?"

Kale stared at the Lucian who had just popped up out of nowhere, his mouth opening, though in the end nothing came out.

"A massive haul, flying high."

Sensing the Runes surging into his body, Lucian felt exhilarated from head to toe.

Lucian ultimately kept only a brass shield and a Lordsworn's Greatsword, packing up and selling everything else to Kale.

It all sold for 1,600 Runes. He originally still had 500 Runes on him, which, combined with the roughly 1,200 Runes from killing and pillaging at Gatefront, came out to around 3,300 total.

Now that there were no items he absolutely had to buy, he could put all of it toward leveling up.

Lucian also crushed the scattered Runes he had been carrying on him; he had forgotten them in his bag during his last level-up.

Three of the smallest Golden Runes, when crushed, netted Lucian 600 Runes.

Bidding farewell to Kale, Lucian sat back down at the Grace.

"Melina? Are you there?"

Melina's figure materialized once again, standing right in the spot where she had vanished earlier.

"Have you already disposed of that equipment?"

"Yeah, a huge haul. I'll have to trouble you to turn Runes into strength for me shortly."

Melina nodded, but instead of holding out her hand, she looked around the dilapidated church, finally fixing her gaze upon the Grace before them.

"This little sliver of golden light is the Grace of the Erdtree. In the past, this golden Grace vanished from the eyes of your kind, the Tarnished."

"And now, it has appeared once more, to guide you."

"You should be able to see it, shouldn't you—the direction guided by the Grace?"

Melina looked intently into Lucian's eyes.

"Atop the cliffside city of Stormveil, there is a Shardbearer there, 'Grafted' Godrick. He holds a fragment of the shattered Elden Ring."

"Please make your way there, if indeed you can see the guidance of the Grace and are guided by the Elden Ring."

Melina wanted confirmation—confirmation of whether Lucian was truly guided by the Elden Ring, which mattered a great deal to her.

Lucian answered her with equal seriousness and resolve.

"Of course, that is precisely why I came."

"But the time is not right yet. I am heading to the southernmost tip of the map first. I've heard there is a fortress there, and the castellan is a master of martial arts who is a Banished Knight. I plan to go apprentice under him first."

Melina was somewhat puzzled.

"I have seen a complete map before. The southernmost tip indeed features a fortress upon a peninsula, but if I am not mistaken, it should currently be under Godrick's rule."

"Haha, I have Stormhawk Ashes on me, so I can try to pull some family strings. If he won't take me in, I'll just run away."

This was, of course, a joke.

Lucian intended to make his acquaintance by saving the castellan's daughter Irina. Even if the man wouldn't take him in, saving Irina was a good thing regardless.

Yet none of this could be told to Melina.

"But..."

Who on earth would believe such a child's play method! Seeing that you're a Tarnished, they might just hack you straight into minced meat with a flurry of blades.

Melina inwardly complained in silence.

"Don't worry, the word 'miracle' was custom-made for me. Once I finish learning my martial arts, I'll charge straight into Stormveil and hack 'Grafted' Godrick into 'Amputated' Godrick."

Watching Lucian's confident appearance, Melina was utterly devoid of the strength to retort.

She simply extended her hand in silence, signaling for Lucian to place his hand upon it.

Lucian galloped on horseback down the grand road leading toward Castle Morne.

This time, he poured all his accumulated Runes into leveling up, putting 2 points into vigor and 1 point into strength.

With over 700 Runes remaining, Lucian asked Kale to craft a water pouch and bought some simply prepared jerky.

These expenses cost Lucian 300 Runes, leaving him with a mere 400—poorer than before.

Still, holding onto a bunch of unused Runes was pointless; boosting his strength was the most crucial thing.

Along the way, Lucian also tested pouring tears into the water pouch, but the tears simply passed straight through it.

Melina had explained to him: because the Flask of Crimson Tears imitated the legend of the chalice catching the tears of grace, the flask itself was a ritual in its own right, which was the only way it could hold the tears.

It seemed he still needed to collect Golden Seeds. Having only one red flask and one blue flask at present really wasn't quite enough.

Riding Torrent, things flashed backward in Lucian's field of vision, and he couldn't help marveling inwardly:

If the Elden Ring hadn't shattered, living in the Lands Between would actually be a pretty good choice... Well, alright, it was still quite dangerous. What if some Dung Eater tainted you while you were in the Lands Between?

At the very least, the scenery was nice, wasn't it?

Accompanied by picturesque landscapes, Lucian's journey toward becoming Elden Lord officially began.

Finally over, starting tomorrow I can resume two chapters a day O.o