Mistwood Cave

"Go! Fanged Imps!"

With Xia Tong's low shout, the two Fanged Imps charged at a lone Godrick Soldier with strange cries, like unleashed wild dogs.

Xia Tong followed close behind, responsible for finishing it off.

In terms of single-target damage, the sharpened Lordsworn's Straight Sword in Xia Tong's hand dealt considerably more damage than a single Stray Wolf.

"Huah!"

The Godrick Soldier spotted the enemy. Its rotten longsword whistled through the air as it stabbed straight at Xia Tong.

Xia Tong's gaze remained calm. With a slight shift of his feet and a small sidestep, he avoided it.

Before the soldier could straighten back up—

Whoosh!

A Fanged Imp had already leaped high into the air, gliding on its wings before landing precisely on the Godrick Soldier's shoulder.

The Forked Hatchet in its hand flashed coldly before plunging viciously into the soldier's unarmored neck!

Squelch!

Blood gushed from its neck like a fountain.

Bleed effect triggered!

That strike dealt fatal damage!

The Godrick Soldier's body swayed violently, thrown into a severe stagger.

Seizing the chance, Xia Tong slid forward and drove his longsword fiercely through a gap in the armor on the soldier's back, piercing its heart.

Then he planted a hard kick on the corpse and yanked the sword free.

Thud.

The corpse collapsed.

With the Fanged Imps harassing it and building up bleed, they had taken down a fully armed Godrick Soldier in less than half a minute.

Xia Tong had not even broken a sweat.

Finally came the routine "looting the corpse" phase.

He stripped off its equipment and collected its Runes. Even the broken throwing knife tied to its leg was not spared.

"Let's go. Find the next prey."

Xia Tong whistled and led his group of hired thugs deeper into the dense forest.

Three days later.

Church of Elleh.

"A total of 1,350 Runes."

After the wandering merchant Kale finished tallying the pile of battered armor and weapons before him, he raised his head and spoke.

The two shook hands.

Golden Rune energy flowed from the wandering merchant's body and into Xia Tong's.

Xia Tong closed his eyes and sensed it. The amount was exact.

Including the Runes he had accumulated from crazily farming monsters these past few days, he was quite wealthy now.

Night fell.

Xia Tong sat beside the Site of Grace and silently called out in his heart.

"Melina."

Specks of blue light gathered, and Melina's figure materialized. She slowly sat before the Site of Grace's warm glow.

In the pitch-black, freezing night, this candlelike Site of Grace felt especially warm and reassuring.

Melina looked at Xia Tong and asked softly,

"Leveling up again?"

"Yes."

Xia Tong held out his left hand.

Melina held out hers as well, and their palms pressed tightly together.

"What attribute would you like to increase this time?"

"Strength!"

Xia Tong did not hesitate.

"All right."

Under Melina's guidance, a deep chant began to rise.

The vast amount of Runes accumulated within Xia Tong began to burn and melt, transforming into pure golden energy that slowly fused into every part of his body.

The sensation of growing stronger was intoxicating.

Soon, the leveling was complete.

Xia Tong glanced at his status panel:

[Character Data]

Level: 9

Runes Held: 515

Vigor: 13

Mind: 20

Endurance: 10

Strength: 15

Dexterity: 10

Intelligence: 18

Faith: 2

Arcane: 10

He casually tossed the Lordsworn's Straight Sword in his hand. It truly felt much lighter now, as though it had become part of his body.

Over the past three days, the Godrick Soldiers in the forest near Gatefront had almost been completely wiped out by Xia Tong.

Selling their stripped equipment, combined with the Runes directly absorbed from their bodies, had allowed Xia Tong to rise all the way to Level 9 in one go.

Most of those points had gone into Strength, followed by Vigor.

"Fifteen Strength is enough to wield a greatsword one-handed."

Xia Tong clenched his fist, feeling the abundant power within him.

"It is time to get that Lordsworn's Greatsword."

Compared with a straight sword, the Lordsworn's Greatsword had higher poise damage and an extremely powerful skill—[Stamp]—which could directly launch light enemies into the air.

The next morning.

Xia Tong once again passed through the forest near Gatefront.

The surroundings were especially quiet. Even birdsong could be heard clearly.

"No one's suddenly jumping out to hack at me anymore."

Xia Tong felt a little sentimental. He had cleansed this entire area.

"I remember... beneath the forest cliffs at Gatefront in the game, there was a place called [Mistwood Cave]."

"There's a very useful talisman there."

After searching all morning,

he finally discovered the hidden cave entrance in the shadows at the bottom of the cliff.

Compared to the small cave Xia Tong had originally used as a hiding place, this cave was far wider. Its entrance towered overhead and could accommodate four or five people walking abreast.

Before he even reached the entrance, a thick, fishy stench rushed at him.

It was the distinctive smell of a beast den.

From time to time, he could hear rustling from inside, along with teeth-grinding "clack, clack" sounds.

It was the sound of wolves gnawing on bones.

To avoid being surrounded and beaten by the wolf pack, Xia Tong wisely shook the Spirit Calling Bell.

Jingle, jingle!

As the crisp ringing of the Spirit Calling Bell sounded,

the figures of two Fanged Imps slowly took shape, landing on the ground with dull thuds.

Another bell rang.

Three Stray Wolves appeared as well.

Including Xia Tong himself, there were six combatants in total.

"Five helpers against Mistwood Cave, a beginner dungeon. This should be a complete stomp."

Whoosh!

The torch was lit, and orange-red flames surged up, driving away the darkness at the cave entrance.

Holding the torch, Xia Tong led the group slowly deeper into the cave.

Suddenly.

In the torchlight, three pairs of glowing green eyes lit up in the darkness ahead.

They belonged to three enormous gray wolves.

"Imps! Throw Magic Pots!"

Xia Tong immediately issued the command.

The Fanged Imps cooperated perfectly, their movements neat and synchronized.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two dark brown Magic Pots cut through the darkness, hurtling precisely toward those three pairs of glowing green eyes.

Bang!

After shattering, the Magic Pots erupted into clouds of blue-violet magical mist.

Magical flames instantly swallowed the wolves, dealing massive splash damage.

"Awooo—!"

At the same time, the three Stray Wolves Xia Tong had summoned charged forward, each facing off against one of the cave's wolves.

Wolf against wolf, the sounds of tearing and biting filled the air.

The Fanged Imps were even more devious. Taking advantage of their small stature, they wielded their Forked Hatchets and launched sneak attacks from the sides every now and then!

Suddenly!

With a ripping sound!

A wolf's belly was viciously slashed by a Fanged Imp's Forked Hatchet. Blood sprayed everywhere, and even its intestines were hooked out!

Bleed effect!

The Fanged Imps' Forked Hatchets possessed an extremely high innate bleed buildup.

Soon, the wolves blocking the way became corpses.

After dealing with the outer sentries, Xia Tong continued deeper into the cave.

"Wait, what's this?"

At a corner, he spotted a dried skeleton leaning against the rock wall.

In the skeleton's embrace was something glittering beneath the torchlight.

Xia Tong picked it up and saw that it was a faintly glowing golden rune.

"This is [Golden Rune [1]]."

Melina's voice sounded beside his ear.

She was currently in a semi-corporeal spirit state. Though she could not directly help Xia Tong fight, she could still serve as an encyclopedia.

"Crushing it will grant you 200 Runes."

Xia Tong put away the Rune and continued onward.

After dealing with several more wolves lying in ambush, Xia Tong picked up a clay pot with cracks around its edges from a platform.

[Cracked Pot].

Xia Tong rubbed the rough clay pot, his gaze growing slightly unfocused.

This Cracked Pot could be used to craft all sorts of throwing items. After shattering upon use, it could even mend itself and be reused.

Once upon a time,

beneath Caelid's Divine Tower, Xia Tong had been tortured to death and back by that perverted Godskin Apostle.

He had used this Cracked Pot to craft [Sleep Pots], putting that arrogant Godskin Apostle to sleep like a baby before obtaining the legendary weapon—[Godslayer's Greatsword].

That Godslayer's Greatsword had accompanied him all the way to the base of the Haligtree.

All the way before Malenia, the Blade of Miquella.

Malenia.

She had been Xia Tong's favorite character in the game, and the one he found most heartbreaking.

Yet after defeating Malenia, what came was not joy, but a deeper emptiness.

Before logging out of the game each time, Xia Tong would have his character sit quietly for a while beside that enormous scarlet rot flower, next to Malenia's empty wooden chair.

"What are you thinking about? You seem distracted."

A clear, pleasant voice reached his ear.

Melina was calling him.

"There seems to be a very powerful presence beyond the fog gate ahead."

Xia Tong came back to his senses and solemnly put the Cracked Pot into his backpack.

"Nothing... I was just thinking of an old acquaintance."

Melina asked curiously:

"Is she a girl?"

"Uh, yes. But she's strong, very strong... She lives beneath a huge tree all year round."

"Living beneath a tree all year round, a woman, and very strong..."

A figure immediately surfaced in Melina's mind.

But after thinking it over, she felt it couldn't be possible.

She was a powerful demigod, one of the strongest forces in the Lands Between.

How could she possibly have any connection to this fragile Tarnished who had only just set out?

While she was lost in wild thoughts, Xia Tong had already composed himself and walked toward the doorway churning with yellow mist ahead.

That was the sign of a boss room.

"There's a powerful being beyond this. You must be extremely careful."

Melina warned him in a grave tone.

"Don't worry."

Xia Tong took a deep breath and passed through the fog gate.

As his vision cleared, the scene before him slowly unfolded.

It was a vast natural stone chamber.

In the middle of the chamber crouched a huge figure with its back to Xia Tong.

Hearing the footsteps of an intruder, it slowly turned around, revealing a terrifying face.

It was a malformed half-man, half-beast.

It stood over two meters tall, its entire body covered in filthy grayish-white fur. Dried blood and rough scales could vaguely be seen amid the hair.

Its back was severely hunched, as though it bore some kind of curse, but its two forelimbs were especially developed, their muscles knotted and bulging.

In its hands, it gripped a crude, enormous Dismounter taller than Xia Tong himself.

[Beastman of Farum Azula]!

This ancient beastman from Sky City stared fixedly at Xia Tong.

"Roar—!!!"

It let out a heart-rending roar, shaking loose fragments of stone from the ceiling.

Then it raised that cumbersome yet deadly massive curved blade.

Like an out-of-control tank, it charged fiercely at Xia Tong!