Seeing those dozen or so pairs of glowing green eyes, Xia Tong broke out in a cold sweat.
But then he realized that he was still a Tarnished now, not the frail office worker from his previous life.
He dismounted Torrent and grabbed the Spirit Calling Bell at his waist.
Jingle, jingle!
Jingle, jingle!
Three Stray Wolves and two Fanged Imps were summoned.
At his side, Melina had also materialized.
More than a dozen wolves growled low, and the night wind occasionally carried a foul, rancid stench.
In the moonlight, Xia Tong could see them crouching low, their muscles taut, black saliva dripping from their bared fangs.
An especially massive alpha wolf was staring fixedly at Xia Tong.
Gulp!
Xia Tong tilted his head back and took a swig from the Cerulean Tear Flask, rapidly replenishing his Focus Points.
He quickly swept his gaze over them. There were twelve wolves in total.
Then he stepped forward, raising the Lordsworn's Greatsword into a stance, ready to use Upward Cut at any moment.
Awoo—
The alpha wolf backed away, while the other wolves slowly advanced, forming an encirclement.
Xia Tong issued a command in his mind, telling the three Stray Wolves and two Fanged Imps not to act rashly and to stay close behind him.
The party instantly formed a defensive circle and faced off against the twelve wolves.
Whoosh!
One wolf could no longer hold itself back. It lunged viciously at Xia Tong's throat.
Slash!
The Lordsworn's Greatsword in Xia Tong's hand had long been thirsting for blood as he swung it fiercely upward.
The attack boost from the skill sent the wolf flying with a single blow!
Its body split in two midair, hot blood splattering across the ground.
On the other side, the three Stray Wolves had each found an opponent and were locked in a tangled melee.
Boom! Boom!
Two explosions rang out nearby.
The Fanged Imps kept hurling Magic Pots. In an instant, four or five wolves were wounded by the blasts, their movements slowing and becoming sluggish.
Seeing how terrifying Xia Tong's area damage was, the alpha wolf let out another furious howl.
Then the pack gradually spread apart, no longer clustering together.
Before long, the Fanged Imps' Magic Pots stopped being effective and could only serve as a distraction.
"The tide has turned!"
Xia Tong chuckled.
There had been almost no casualties on their side, while the enemy had already lost six or seven wolves.
"Charge!"
Xia Tong gave the command, and everyone instantly rushed toward the alpha wolf.
In the blink of an eye, Torrent materialized.
Xia Tong leaped onto the saddle, Lordsworn's Greatsword in his right hand, and chased after the alpha wolf with all his might.
Wolves were monsters with high attack and low defense, their greatest strength being their incredible speed.
Seeing the alpha wolf getting farther and farther away, Xia Tong immediately drew the throwing knife from his waist.
He had looted it from a Godrick Soldier before.
A throwing knife.
He hurled it viciously!
He had practiced darts a few times in his previous life. This body's coordination was better, and his aim was decent enough.
Whoosh!
The throwing knife tore through the air and buried itself in the alpha wolf's rear.
Awoo—!
With a pained howl, the alpha wolf's speed suddenly dropped. Its tail drooped as it turned to glare fiercely at Xia Tong.
Using Torrent's momentum, Xia Tong launched himself into the air!
He raised the Lordsworn's Greatsword overhead with both hands and, using the force of his descent, brought it down in a savage strike!
Crack!
The combined force of speed, inertia, and gravity made the blow devastatingly heavy.
The alpha wolf was cleaved straight in half.
The remaining small fry were quickly dealt with as well.
Soon, the battlefield was left with nothing but bloodstained ground and scattered whimpers.
Xia Tong took a look.
The three Stray Wolves he had summoned were badly injured as well. One had even had its tail bitten off, while the other two were covered in wounds.
He canceled the summon.
The three Stray Wolves turned into white smoke and vanished, returning to their Spirit Ashes to recuperate.
After skinning all the wolves and taking their small beast bones, Xia Tong mounted Torrent and continued onward.
About half an hour later, a cluster of golden light appeared ahead.
"That's a Site of Grace."
Beside the Site of Grace stood a small Shack swaying in the storm.
The roof was riddled with holes and barely intact, making it look especially bleak atop the cold, rain-soaked Stormhill.
Xia Tong first sat down at the Site of Grace and stored the items he would not need for the moment in the wooden chest—the space that belonged to him alone.
Only after finishing all that did he walk toward the ruined shack.
There was a corpse outside. Xia Tong jumped onto the platform and picked up a Stonesword Key beside it.
He pushed open the rickety wooden door.
The first thing he saw was that striking flash of red.
Roderika was curled up on the wooden floor in the corner of the shack like a frightened little animal.
The most eye-catching thing about her was her deep crimson hooded cloak.
Beneath the cloak, she wore a noble's traveling outfit.
It had once been exquisite ivory satin, but now it was stained with mud and grass clippings, its edges worn away, giving her a bedraggled and destitute appearance.
She hugged her knees, burying her face deep in the shadow of her hood, golden hair hanging messily along her cheeks.
Her face was filled with grief and terror.
Hearing footsteps, Roderika suddenly raised her head.
"...Everyone... everyone was Grafted."
Her voice trembled.
"My companions who came to the Lands Between with me... they fought for my sake, but in the end, they all... had their arms and legs cut off and were taken away for Grafting."
Xia Tong said nothing. He simply listened quietly.
She spoke of many things. So many things.
He knew that this was Roderika's inner demon.
"Only I... only I was afraid and ran away... I'm such a coward... I'm so sorry..."
She covered her face in anguish, curling herself even tighter.
Xia Tong crouched down until he was at eye level with her.
Rather than merely listening as in the game, he reached out and gently patted Roderika's trembling shoulder.
Roderika lifted her tearful eyes and shakily held out something to him.
"If you're going to Stormveil Castle too... could you please take this child with you?"
"Her name is Kurala. She's a Spirit Jellyfish... this child cries easily, just like me... If it's you, I'm sure you'll treat her well."
Roderika was extremely sensitive to such things, and she could sense that Xia Tong was not a bad person.
The conversation ended.
Xia Tong walked out of the shack.
Roderika was an exceptionally important character in the game, and now that Xia Tong had entered this real world, he valued her even more.
"My reliance comes entirely from Spirit Ashes. My Spirit Ashes army cannot do without Roderika."
"Right now, when Spirit Ashes are injured, it takes time for them all to recover. But as a future spirit tuner, Roderika must have some way to shorten that time."
Xia Tong calculated in his mind.
"But going to Stormveil Castle now is practically suicide!"
Only by obtaining Chrysalids' Memento and giving it to Roderika could she find the courage to leave and head to Roundtable Hold.
"Should I take the risk?"
A bold idea surfaced in Xia Tong's mind.
With his current intelligence, he could absolutely go to Waypoint Ruins and study sorcery under Teacher Sellen.
With a ranged attack method, fighting some monsters in the Lands Between would become much easier.
But learning sorcery alone would not be enough.
Most importantly, he needed a powerful staff.
In Caelid!
By using the trapped teleportation chest in Dragon-Burnt Ruins, he could reach Sellia Crystal Tunnel in Caelid directly, then make his way to Aeonia Swamp.
Within the swamp, at Sage's Ruins, there was a Meteorite Staff and the corresponding sorcery, Rock Sling.
That was the strongest staff of the early and mid-game!
Though it could not be upgraded, it had an S-rank intelligence scaling.
That staff was practically an official cheat code.
"But... that place is in Caelid."
A single Kindred of Rot or a single Cleanrot Knight would be enough to kill Xia Tong.
Not to mention the infamous—Scarlet Rot—within Aeonia Swamp.
"No, no. I can't go."
Xia Tong felt a chill of fear at his own idea.
He could not take that risk.
He needed to play it safe!
Before you continue