Landing

Whoosh—

Whoosh—

The seawater washed back and forth across the sandy beach.

A naked man wearing nothing but a loincloth and a small pouch lay sprawled on the shore.

Beside him lay a massive blue rag and various pieces of equipment scattered in disarray.

This naked man was Lucian.

The storm had impaired his judgment of distance, and combined with his own mental pressure, he had activated his invincibility too early. As a result, the moment the effect wore off, his face made intimate contact with the surface of the sea.

The impact of that collision had knocked him unconscious instantly.

However, what Lucian did not know was that after he lost consciousness, a storm had surged, blowing him all the way to this beach.

A cloaked figure riding a horse slowly approached Lucian.

The horse, covered in long gray hair, stopped in front of Lucian. Despite being a horse, it had a pair of large horns atop its head.

It lowered its head, intending to nudge Lucian's face to see if he was still alive.

Suddenly, a high-pitched eagle cry emanated from Lucian's pouch, and the wind began to gather around him.

The person sitting sideways in the saddle dismounted, and a gentle female voice drifted out.

"Oh, ancient and powerful soul, please do not worry; we have no intention of harming him."

"We found him because we saw in him the qualifications to become Elden Lord."

"He will surely seek the Elden Ring... even if it means forsaking the Golden Order to do so."

The Ancient King calmed the storm, acknowledging their words.

The person and the horse did not linger; they were waiting for the right moment to make contact with Lucian.

Lucian slowly regained consciousness, feeling his entire body drenched and failing to react for a moment.

Lucian pushed himself up. The beach was filled with tall, broken stone pillars and the ruins of massive structures, with steep cliffs visible in the distance.

Looking around at the equipment scattered across the ground, it looked exactly like the scene of a shipwreck.

I didn't time the invincibility right. I really thought I was going to die...

But... I actually survived? Is this body's constitution that strong?

Having been a pure shut-in in his previous life, Lucian couldn't help but marvel at the resilience of this body.

That's right, the late game is all about mythic battles; even the base stats from the early game are far beyond those of a normal human.

While marveling, Lucian didn't delay; he began collecting all the equipment scattered around him.

"The gloves, armor, and trousers of the Knight Set are still here, as are the dual swords, the straight sword, and the halberd."

"Nothing is missing from my personal pouch."

"The helmet, Iron Shield, and Greatshield are gone, but that's no big deal."

"Most of those noble ornaments are gone too, which is a bit of a pity."

Lucian had originally intended to trade those items with merchants for some Runes.

Still, it didn't matter; he still had some savings on him.

"But, where is this? According to the game's plot, I should have woken up in the Stranded Cave."

He had been stranded, but where was the cave?

Lucian donned the armor, gripping his sword in his left hand and his halberd in his right.

He tied the dual swords to his back with rope and stuffed whatever smaller items he could into his pouch, discarding what wouldn't fit.

Once finished, Lucian set off toward the cliffs.

Not long after, Lucian stopped in his tracks, though he had not yet reached his destination.

He had spotted a firelight ahead.

There were people ahead, but Lucian didn't rush forward. In the Lands Between, people you could actually communicate with were the minority.

The person roasting something by the fire might be a merchant, or they could be any number of enemies.

Lucian crept closer and finally saw the other party clearly.

He wore Viking-style armor and attire, possessed a tall and burly build, and was accompanied by a warhorse while roasting fish.

In the Lands Between, only one group wore such attire: the Kaiden Mercenaries.

They were hired by various factions to gallop across battlefields, and the reputation of Kaiden echoed across every front.

At the same moment Lucian spotted them, a wolf's howl rang out.

Lucian looked toward the source of the sound: a White Wolf was watching him vigilantly.

Wolves were the partners of the Kaiden Mercenaries; they fought together and were inseparable.

Hearing the wolf's howl, the Kaiden Mercenary turned his head and saw Lucian as well.

The situation immediately fell into a stalemate.

For the sake of narrative consistency, the discarded landing location was used.