Gostoc

The blacksmith's hammer crashed heavily onto the anvil with a deafening clang.

He explained impatiently:

"Do you think I want these Runes for myself?"

"Isn't that the case?"

Lu Mingfei stood there blankly, blinking in confusion.

The blacksmith was so angry that his beard bristled. He smashed his hammer down on the anvil, sending sparks flying everywhere.

"These suits of armor are imbued with Rune power, granting all kinds of resistance. Otherwise, what makes you think you can withstand magic, fire, and incantations?"

He lifted Lu Mingfei's breastplate and pointed at the cracks in it.

"Yours obviously hasn't been maintained for far too long. Its power has already dispersed. How else could it have been damaged this badly?"

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh..."

Only then did Lu Mingfei understand. He hurriedly rummaged through every pocket on his person for Golden Runes.

After he paid, the blacksmith focused fully on repairing the armor. Following the battle against Margit, the Fell Omen, Lu Mingfei's armor had suffered considerable damage. This was clearly going to be a time-consuming, labor-intensive job.

While waiting, Lu Mingfei grew bored and sidled up to the blacksmith to make conversation.

"Sir, my name is Lu Mingfei. May I ask your name?"

"What surname would a misbegotten have, boy?"

Without raising his head, the blacksmith replied gruffly:

"This old man is called Hewg."

Misbegotten?

Lu Mingfei's heart jolted.

He knew of that race.

During his time studying at the Church of Dragon Communion, the old knight had crammed him full of knowledge about the various creatures of the Lands Between.

They were a race despised by the forces of the Erdtree.

It was said that misbegotten were born as punishment for coming into contact with the Crucible.

Thus, they were slaves from birth, known as the defiled.

But that had nothing to do with Lu Mingfei.

After all, he was the foremost rebel standing against the forces of the Erdtree, a remnant of the fallen old king, and an official knight of the Storm Knights!

He did not care about any of that.

"Oh, Mr. Hewg."

Lu Mingfei hurriedly lowered his head.

As he did, he caught sight of the crude, heavy shackles around the misbegotten blacksmith's legs and immediately pressed his lips together.

They were symbols of humiliation.

Surely they were also a shadow Hewg did not wish to speak of.

Yet Hewg still noticed his gaze.

"Are you curious about these chains?"

Without looking up, Hewg continued hammering at the anvil.

Lu Mingfei waved his hands repeatedly.

"As you can see, they are merely chains for shackling prisoners. I am bound to Roundtable Hold, forging weapons for people like you. I cannot even die. That is all there is to it."

Hewg swung his hammer as he calmly stated the reality of his circumstances, as if he had long since accepted his fate.

"All right. Your armor."

The misbegotten blacksmith pointed in front of him.

"Do not misunderstand. I am not complaining. Besides, you are not responsible for my becoming a prisoner.

"I do not dislike forging weapons. No matter what I am, I can make weapons stronger—skill and time do not betray oneself."

Lu Mingfei accepted the armor, restored to pristine condition. The plates, weathered ever since he had obtained them, now gleamed brightly.

Something seemed to flow slowly across the armor's once-dull surface, like veins of blood.

So this was the kind of armor the Storm Knights wore?

When the knightly order had been at its peak, how magnificent had it been? The old knight had been known as the foremost knight beneath the Storm Lord's Two Wings. How powerful had he been in his youth?

Lu Mingfei felt a little wistful.

"Thank you, Mr. Hewg."

Lu Mingfei solemnly placed a hand over his chest in salute, thanking the blacksmith for repairing this symbol of his identity.

The old blacksmith's raised hammer suddenly froze in midair.

He silently lifted his head and looked at the black-haired young man before him with a complicated expression.

Over all his years at Roundtable Hold, he had seen every kind of Tarnished—those who despised him, those who insulted him, and those who ignored him... But this was the first time he had received such sincere respect.

After putting away his armor, Lu Mingfei began wandering around Roundtable Hold.

First was D, the man seated by the Roundtable, whose breastplate bore a grotesque human face.

He was somewhat cold, but not really a bad person. After warning Lu Mingfei not to approach Those Who Live in Death or "boats," he said nothing more.

Then there was Diallos, the knight in flamboyant armor, who asked him about the whereabouts of his servant.

Lu Mingfei chatted with him for a while.

This guy was one of the easier people to talk to at Roundtable Hold. According to himself, he came from a famous Tarnished family called Hoslow, whose inherited motto was, "Hoslow speaks with blood."

Yet Lu Mingfei looked him up and down and could not see how this guy, who seemed even more dejected than himself, was supposed to "speak with blood."

So after patting his "good brother" on the shoulder, he went to find Corhyn, who stood off to one side dressed like a clergyman.

As expected, Corhyn truly was a holy man.

"Would you like to learn the incantations of the Two Fingers?"

That was what he asked.

Lu Mingfei neither agreed nor refused.

The old knight had once told him that incantations were a path to power, attained by offering faith to one's god.

Yet the description of the Dragon Communion Mark contained a line like this:

To call the manner of performing Dragon Communion an incantation would be far too savage.

Those who practiced Dragon Communion had no taboos. The only thing they revered was power itself.

Naturally, Lu Mingfei did not believe in the Two Fingers, nor did he understand the Golden Order.

He did not believe in gods.

Gostoc leaned his hunched body against the wall, staring at the Tarnished pacing back and forth through the room.

This idiot had already circled the place seventeen times.

He had only counted because he was bored out of his mind.

"Main gate... side path... main gate... side path..."

Lu Mingfei's armored boots rang against the ground. One moment, he was touching the tables and chairs around the room; the next, he was craning his head toward the main gate.

This was killing him.

Gostoc thought.

What was that idiot's name from last time? At least that guy had tossed out a Golden Rune to decide which way to go...

How had it ended again? Ah, he had been shot full of holes while looting a corpse at the main gate.

But this kid, this kid...

He had been wasting nearly the entire day here!

If this went on and the kid decided not to take either route, then patted his ass and left, would Gostoc not come away with nothing at all?

Gostoc rolled his eyes internally.

With that kind of nerve, he still called himself a Tarnished?

"Those guards at the main gate executed several Tarnished like you just a few days ago."

Gostoc suddenly lowered his voice and said again:

"Trust me, that little path on the side is very safe. The soldiers do not know about it at all."

Lu Mingfei scratched his head.

"But that path is right beside a cliff. I am kind of afraid of heights..."

Gostoc's breathing stopped.

No, man, are you the Tarnished or am I the Tarnished?

Weren't you the one who came to Stormveil?

Do I have to beg you to go in?

Gostoc forcibly suppressed his anger and squeezed out a twisted smile.

"It is precisely because it is on a cliff that no one knows about it. That way, you can enter the castle directly without being discovered."

"All right."

Lu Mingfei slowly got to his feet, muttering under his breath:

"Whether I stick my head out or pull it back, the blade will fall anyway. I suppose this barely counts as returning home in glory. Storm Lord, bless me..."

Gostoc was overjoyed. He could practically hear Runes clinking into his coin purse.

Just as Lu Mingfei was about to leave, he suddenly looked at Gostoc suspiciously.

"Wait. Why are you helping me?"

Gostoc's smile froze on his face.